Like many names of Scottish and/or Irish descent, there are multiple interpretations of the origin and meaning of the surname McMunn. The most obvious theory is that the name originated in Scotland, and that it would mean "the son of Munn." This is possible. Another theory holds that the family is named for religious reasons, that our ancestors were the "followers of [St.] Munn," although this would have been in Ireland, not Scotland. A third theory has to do with the physical appearance of our ancestor, Alexander McMunn. While it might seem the least likely of the three theories, it also may be true, since "other folk were identified by their characteristics ..." (See Tartan For Me!, below.) Since there is no agreement at present on the origin of the surname, all three views are presented here.

Tartan For Me!,  Philip D. Smith, Jr., 1994
Family History, Alfred Moore Munn, 1904 [under construction]
The St. Munn Theory [under construction]
Allied Lines [under construction]
Miscellaneous [under construction]

Authorized Tartans

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From Tartan For Me!,  Philip D. Smith, Jr., 1994:

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MAC or Mc?

  Mac, Gaelic for "son", is the most common element of Scottish and Irish surnames. In both countries, Mc is always an abbreviation of Mac. There is absolutely no truth to the American myth at Mac is Scottish and Mc is Irish. Mac used to be abbreviated M' although this spelling is not common now. At times, all three versions can be seen. in an early book on Highland music, the author spelled his own family name three different ways on the first two pages -- "MacDonald", "McDonald", and "M'Donald."

    Black's The Surnames of Scotland and MacLysaght's The Surnames of Ireland both treat Mac in the same way -- as the only and original spelling. Persons seeking a name spelled "Mc" are expected to know that it is a conventional abbreviation for Mac. This same approach is used in Tartan For Me! To find "McDeal" look for "MacDeal."

  Mac is always considered an addition to a name. Before there was a "Donald's Son" there was a "Donald". In both Scotland and Nova Scotia, names beginning with Mac were traditionally alphabetized under the first letter of the second name -- MacArthur under "A", MacZeal under "Z". Many Scots dropped "Mac" as they became Anglicized or emigrated, "Mac Wyeth" becoming simply "Wyeth". "Kinzie" is from "MacKenzie". The one notable exception is the Innes and MacInnes families, each quite distinct. The Innes family have Pictish roots and are from the east coast of Scotland with a red tartan. The MacInnes are of Gaelic origin from the west coast and wear a green tartan.

  Mac takes a variety of pronunciations. In Islay Gaelic, Mac is pronounced like /mek/. In the United States one hears it as "mick". Preceding a /k/ or /g/ sound, the final /k/ of Mac disappears. It became the practice in both the south of Scotland and in Ireland to write two words as one (MacGill to Magill; MacHale to Makale). In other names the /k/ sound of Mac is duplicated and attached to the front of a following word if it begins in a vowel (MacArter to MacCarter). The reverse also occurs. If the second name begins with a /k/ or /g/, producing two /k/ sounds together, one may disappear (MacGill to Magill; MacKenzie to MacEnzee). Mac is at times pronounced "muck" and written that way (Mac 'il Roy to Muckleroy).
 

Spelling Differences

    Spelling differences among names are usually trivial no matter how much pride a person has in a particular version. Many of our ancestors were illiterate until recent.y, especially if they were Gaelic speakers. Most Gaels were not taught to read or write their own language. In contrast with English, Gaelic speakers place more emphasis on the spoken language than on the written form. This means that Gaelic spelling is constantly being modified to match the spoken form, the latest major revision in 1982. In addition, Gaelic speakers did not need or use family names until they began to interact with the English speaking culture. The Gaelic naming system is quite different and either shows a person's lineage or some personal attribute. "Donald of the race of Donald". "Donald, Son of John", and "Donny Little" all might be the same person.

    Land holders were known by the name of their holdings--"Locheil", "Corriemony", "Keppoch", Family heads often had a patronymic, a stylized name referring to an ancestor--Mac 'ic Ailein, "The Grandson of Allan" is MacDonald of Clanranald; Mac Phadruig, "Son of Patrick" is Grant of Glenmoriston. Other folk were identified by their characteristics and/or their pedigree--"Dark John the son of John (who was the) son of Allan" (Iain Dubh Mac Iain 'ic Ailein) is in English simply "John MacDonald". The Gaels refer to two of their great poets simply as "Mary the daughter of Red-haired Alastair" (Mairi Nighean Alisdair Ruadh) and "Big Mary of the Songs" (Mairi Mhor non Oran)--she was a stout lady. Neither Gaelic name had any relationship to their English language surnames, "Mary MacLeod" and "Mary MacPherson". Lady Grant of Glenmoriston was known to her tenants as A'Bhean Bhreac, "The Speckled Woman."

    Most persons first had their names written for them by others--ministers, school masters, government officials or ship captains. There people wrote as they heard the name, often differently from one time to the next. MacLysaght, in The Surnames of Ireland tells of one family of six buried in adjacent graves under six different versions of the family name, five in Irish and one in English.

    A name like Mac Gille Ruaidh (Son of the Red Headed Servent can be variously seen as "MacGilroy", "MacKilroy", "MacIlroy", "MacElroy" and "Muckleroy". It also appears as "MacKelra" and "MacGilra". The Mac can be shortened to Mc to double the spellings. Mac can be dropped to form "Gilroy" and "Kilroy". There are more than fifty spellings each of "MacFie", "MacKay" and "MacAulay".

    In modern spellings one can find the second part of the surname capitalized or in lower case, "MacDonald" or "Macdonald". This style was adopted in the nineteenth century to distinguish between a person who was actually the son of a man named Donald (MacDonald) or one of the general clan surname (Macdonald). Of course, the son of "MacDonald" may not have later changed the spelling--he is now the grandson of Donald, not the son--and the difference quickly lost any meaning. In Gaelic, "MacDonalds" are not called "MacDonald" but Domhnullach--"People of Donald."

    Gaellic pronunciation rules account for many variations that seem unexplainable to the non-Gael. One example will illustrate. A Gaelic n is an /n/ unless it follows a c--it is than pronounced like /r/. Cnoc, "rounded hillock", is pronounced like the English word "crock". The name "Nichol" is pronounced like "nickle" until the word Mac is prefixed. Then the name is "MacNichol" and the n, now follows a /k/ sound, is pronounced like /r/. "Nichol" is like "nickle" but "MacNichol" is pronounced like "MacRickle"--and may have been written that way b the local rent collector two centuries ago.

    Non-Scots should remember that Scottish names are not always pronounced the same way abroad or even from one part of Scotland to another--as many visitors find out when they try to pronounce local place names. "Forbes" is often two syllables and one finds the variations "Forbus" and "Forbush". "Menzies" can be heard as "MEEN-us", "MING-us" and "MEN-zies."

    When using name lists such as Tartan For Me!, encourage people to accept equivalent or near spellings of their names. There is no difference between -ie and -y at the end of a name; -ie is the older Scottish spelling, -y is more common in Ulster and North America. "Ogilvy" is "Ogilvie". Final -s can disappear; "Figgins" and "Figgin" are the same. Often when a name is written phonetically, the orginal name will appear. One shoud not try to explain spellings changes unless he is a philogist. Many defy explanation.

    Writing is, after all, only a poor representation of what people say. English speakers are keenly aware of the lack of agreement between the spoken and written language. Until about 1800 people wrote English as they heard and spoke it. Shakespeare wrote his own name several different ways during his lifetime. Early Nova Scotia records show phonetic spelligns of many well known Scottish names--MacKenzee, Southerland, Munrow, Gorden, Shey, and Richords. In the United States, census takers in Indiana in 1850 wrote "McOlive" for "MacAuliffe", "McOnion" for "MacCunnion", and "MacDonald" as "McDolnold."

THE TERM "SEPT"

    "Sept" is a term borrowed from Irish culture in the nineteenth century to explain the use of a variety of surnames by members of a single clan. In Ireland, "sept" is roughly synonymous with the Scottish "clan" and refers to an intra-related family. Where Scots would refer to "MacGregor and his clan" an Irish historian might say "O'Neill and his sept." Only in the case of larger clans with distinct and sometimes widely separated subfamilies is the term "sept" appropriate in Scotland. The various branches of Clan Donald, for example, all using the name "MacDonald of ..." or "MacDonell of ..." may properly be viewed as septs. The many other names of Clan Donald are just that--names of Clan Donald.

    The variety of surnames within a Scottish clan do not represent separate and definable sub-clans but instead reflect the vagaries of transition of the Gaels in to the English naming system as well as marriages, migrations and occupations. The main family itself may have developed a variety of surnames. The preferred modern usage is to avoid teh use of the term "sept" and to simply describe these names as what they are--surnames of the family or of allied or dependent families. It is preferable to speak of "The names and families of Clan X" rather than to call a name "a sept of Clan X".

"STEWART" OR "STUART"?

    "Stuart" is a spelling variation of "Stewart." The original word is the English title "Steward." The spelling difference is due to the presence of the /w/ sound in the middle of the name. Until late in the history of the English alphabet there was no letter w although the sound /w/ existed in may dialects. In Scotland the /w/ sound was written with the two letter combination qu as in "Balquidder", /bal-wid-der/.

    Literacy came to Scotland primarily through Latin, the language of most early records and documetns, and secondarily through Norman French, Continental French, and Gaelic. None of these languages has the letter w. Latin and French spell the sound /w/ as u or ou (as in French oui). Gaelic spells the /w/ sound with the letter combinations bh and mh as in MacGobhain "MacGowan" and MacAmhlaigh "MacAulay." "Stewart" is spelled Stiùbhard in Scottish Gaelic.

    The spelling "Stuart" was adopted by some "Stewarts", especially the Lowland branches of the family, under the French spelling influence. Cultural, military, and commercial contact was strong with France, particularly in the 1500's as literacy became more general. Mary, Queen of Scots, was, until the premature death of her husband, also Queen Marie of France and resided there.

    Persons with the surname "Stewart" or "Stuart" should be advised that it is not correct to wear the "Royal Stewart" as their clan tartan. The "Royal Stewart" is an attractive, classic and easily obtained design. It is, however, the tartan of the sovereign and the honour of wearing it is granted to select individuals and groups at the pleasure of the sovereign. The "Dress Stewart" is a white variation of the "Royal Stewart."

    Neither is the "Hunting Steart" properly a Clan Stewart tartan. It is one of several "national" tartans and can be worn by anyone who wishes to wear Scottish dress. Why it is called the "Hunting Stewart" when it has been a "national" tartan for almost two hundred years is one of the many mysteries facing tartan scholars.

    The correct tartan for those with the surname "Stewart" is the blue and green pattern known as the "Old Stewart" or "Clan Stewart." "Stewarts" who know their Highland connection can chose to wear one of the tartans of the Stewarts of Appin, Ardshiel or Atholl.

    Those who spell the name "Stuart" can choose either the "Old Stewart" or the "Stuart of Bute" tartans.
 

From the Act of Proscription

"SVII. ...from and after the first day of August, 1747, no man or boy, within Scotland, other than such as shall be employed as officers and soldiers...shall... wear or put on the clothes commonly called Highligh clothes, the plaid, philibeg,or little kilt, trowse, shoulder belts ... and that no tartan, or partly colored plaid shall be used for great coats, or for upper coats.. every person so offending ... shall suffer imprisonment, without bail, for the space of six months... and being convicted for a seocnd offense shall be liable to be transported...beyond the seas...for the space of seven years."

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Tartans Which McMunns are Authorized to Wear

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According to Tartan For Me!, McMunns in America are authorized to wear the tartan of two Clans of Scotland. These are Clan Lamont and Clan Stuart of Bute. The reasoning for the authority to wear the Stuart tartan is that family McMunn, in Scotland, lived in the area of Stuart of Bute. Bute is an island off the southwest coast of Scotland. Clan Lamont was from the mainland, northeast of Bute. Ayrshire, from which Alexander came, is located in the same area as the historical location of Clan Lamont, Clan MacDonald, and Clan Stuart of Bute.

Information on the authorized tartans:

Source: http://home.pcmagic.net/ogdenj/lamont/pages/tartansx.htm
"Tartan cloth is of undoubted great antiquity, but, contrary to popular belief, there is little or no evidence of "Clan Tartans" before 1747 and the banning of the wearing of tartan. There are paintings of clan chiefs made in the 17th and 18th centuries, which show them wearing more than one tartan at a time, none of which match current clan tartans. Apparently, the main means of indicating clan affiliation, was the sprig of plant badge worn on the bonnet. After the repeal of the ban in 1782, there was more in interest in tartan, but it was not until Sir Walter Scott's romantic Waverley Novels, that interest surged about the highlands and their tartans. It was in 1819 that Wilson's of Bannockburn, the leading tartan weaving firm, issued a pattern book. The tartans were all numbered, but some did have names of clans, families, and cities. Most of these tartans are now forgotten, but some are still in use under different clan names ! If Scott's novels had created a interest in the highlands, his orchestrating of the 1822 visit of King William IV to Edinburgh, created a panic of kilt buying. The woolen mills turned out "clan" tartans as fast as they could. Most clan tartans date from this period. However, it was in 1817, before the issuing of the Wilson's pattern book, that our Chief, John Lamont, registered the Lamont tartan.

"Many people have theorized, that if clan tartans did not exist before 1747, there may have been instances were a more or less common pattern was used in a local area. This might explain why the Lamont, Campbell, Gordon, and Farquaharson are so similar. If this is true, John Lamont may have just registered a variation of the common tartan most worn by the clan. In any case, the Lamont tartan was among the first to be registered, and has been in use for over 180 years.

"There are three color variations of the Lamont tartan:

"Ancient
Duplicating the old vegetable dies used in the Highlands. Most prefer this, as it shows the pattern clearly.

"Modern
Using the darker modern chemical dyes. Some prefer this for formal evening wear.

"Muted
Sometimes called "weathered". Supposed to duplicate cloth that has been exposed to the sun ( In Scotland ?) and weather. It has a brown-pinkish cast. Only available from the Clan Lamont Society in Scotland."
 
 

Source:
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Heritage/FSCNS/Scots_NS/Clans/Stuart/Stuart_Bute/Stuart_Bute.html

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From McMunn Family History, Alfred Moore Munn, 1904:

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In 1904, Alfred Moore Munn, Clerk of the Crown and Peace for the City and County of Londonderry, compiled a history of the McMunn family and prepared tables of descent for various lines of the family. These have been made generously available by Andrew Munn Hendry of Canada.

From Table of descent of the "MUNN," otherwise "McMUNN," Family, being a branch of the Clan of McDonnell, from 1720 to 1904, compiled by Alfred Moore Munn, Clerk of the Crown and Peace for the City and County of Londonderry, from Family Records, &c, 1904.

"The McMunn or Macdonald Family spelled McDonell, is descended from the great Scottish Clan of that name. Alexander who first came to Ireland, was distinguished for his Herculean size, and according to the custom then prevailing was distinguished from the bearers of the same name by one expressive of his conspicuous proportions. He was called The Mickle Man, the large man; in process of time the surname was dropped, the family being called Muckle Men which was further abbreviated to McMunn; nearly all his descendants inherit his stature, many of them being over six feet. Alexander, it is supposed, came over from Scotland in the 17th century, after the Battle of the Boyne, crossing from Ayrshire to Malin, and early in the 18th century took up a considerable plantation at Portloch, Co. Donegal. ..."

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The St. Munn Theory:

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[Coming soon!]

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Allied Lines

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Below are some of the names connected with the McMunn Family. These will appear later in the GEDCOM and Histories sections of this site. If you would like to add a name, please send an email or visit the Guestbook. If there is a misspelled name in the list or one  you don't believe should appear, please send an email or visit the Guestbook.
 
 

Adams Allen Allshouse Anderson Armstrong Arnold Au Baker  Banner Barton Baustert Beatty Bell Berringer Bish Black Blackwood Blakely Boarts Bodnar Boggs Borland Boyd Boyle Bracken Brewer Brown Bruner Buccieri Buchanan Butler California Campbell Canon Carle Carter Cerra Clawson Claypoole Click Coar Cole Colkitt Cook Coulter Cover Crafe Crahan Craig Crownover Crum Dabney Delaney Dinsmore Dongiovanni Douds Douglas Douthett Duncan Dunkin Eckenrod Eckenrode Eckhart Elchick Ellwood Ellwood Elwood Farley Faust Febinger Fee Felton Fennell

Fetterman Fike Findley Finn Fiscus Flickinger Foust Frailey Frain Friday Fry Fullerton Fullmer Gallagher Gamble Garman Garner George Gibbens Gilner Goellnitz Gordan Grantz Gray Greer Grinder Gully Guth Hall Hartman Haslett Hays Heckert Heckman Heilman Heller Henrich Henry Herrera Hess Hillbow Hillburn Hoak Hobel Hoit Hooks Horner Howell Ickes Jack Jackson Jameson Jamison Johns Johnson Johnston Jones Karl Kelly Keppler Kerr Kessler Kibbe Kinder King Kinter Kirkland Klingensmith Knappenberger Koag Koechin Kough Kubican

Lampkin Lange Lawrence Layman Leake Leech Leisure Liecbech Likeley Limbaugh Lingenfelter Linn Lipsett Liston Litzinger Livengood Logan Long Lumadue Lute Lydick Lynn Maguire Marlett Marshall Martin Martz Massey Matus Maughan Maurer Mazenko McAwley McBlane McCall McCallister McCauley McConnell McCormack McCreary McCutcheon McElhoes McGara McGregor McKnight McLaughlin McMunn Mears Metz Meyer Meyers Miers Miller Milliron Misenko Mitchell Mizenko Moffatt Montgomery Moore Morgan Morrison Munn Myers Nesbit Newton Noble Orr Osborn Ow Palmer Patterson Pepple

Peron Perry Pick Porter Prewitt Price Proper Pyle Queery Rager Ramsey Ray Rea Reichard Reigh Renshaw Renwick Riccuto Richards Riddle Riffer Roberts Rohr Rosborough Rosencrans Ross Rushton Saela Saloum Schantz Schrecengost Seesholtz Sell Shank Shearer Shirley Shotts Simms Simpson Smail Smith Snyder Solada Specht Speedy Speer Steaks Steiger Stiffler Sullivan Swank Taiser Taylor Thomas Thompson Towel Treese Trimble Trojan Trombi Troy Truby Velot Virgue Walker Waltenbaugh Warden Watkins Weibel Wesner Williams Wilson Wimer Woods

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Miscellaneous

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Other sites having to do with Scottish and/or Irish surnames:

http://www.crosswinds.net/~daire/names/scotsurs2.html

This site states that the McMunn Sept was associated with Clan Stewart in Scotland.

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