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The surname is an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic MacDhòmhnaill or Dòmhnallach. [1] The name is a patronym meaning 'son of Dòmhnall'. The personal name Dòmhnall is composed of the elements domno 'world' and val 'might rule'. [2]
MacDonnell, Macdonnell, or McDonnell is a surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic patronymic Mac Dhòmhnaill, meaning "son of Dòmhnall". [3] The Gaelic personal name Dòmhnall is a Gaelicised form of the name Donald, which is composed of the elements domno, meaning "world", and val, meaning "might" or "rule".
Today the surname is predominantly spelled McDonnell in Ireland and abroad, although many McConnells are also of the same family, as that is the Gaelic pronunciation of the Mac Domhnaill. Most of the leadership of the Clan wrote their name as a variant of McConnell up until the 17th century, including Sorley Boy MacDonnell himself. [ 3 ]
The clan continued as MacDonald until the patent of nobility was granted to Aeneas, who was raised to the Scottish peerage by the title of Lord MacDonell and Aros. This is stated to be the origin of the name of MacDonell, McDonell or McDonnell, the orthography varying according to the usage of different families descended from the Glengarry branch.
The armies of the MacDonald Lords of the Isles were the only magnate forces in Scotland capable of inflicting defeats on the Crown at this time. [20] The Battle of Inverlochy in 1431 is one example of this and the Battle of Lagabraad in Ross in 1480 is another. [20] James I finally conceded to Alexander's rule in the Isles and Ross.
A fair number of Gaelic names were borrowed into English or Scots at different periods (e.g. Kenneth, Duncan, Donald, Malcolm, Calum, Lachlan, Alasdair, Iain, Eilidh), although it can sometimes be difficult to tell if the donor language was Irish or Scottish Gaelic (e.g. Deirdre, Rory, Kennedy, Bridget/Bride, Aiden).
The 17th-century History of the Macdonalds by Hugh MacDonald of Sleat claimed that Domhnall's father Raghnall had married a daughter or sister of the early-14th-century hero Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray. Sellar suggested that this tradition may have derived from a garbled version of reality.
MacDonald (surname), a list of people with surname MacDonald and its variants; Justice McDonald (disambiguation) Baron Macdonald, a title in the Peerage of Ireland Macdonald baronets, two British titles