Celtic last names are surnames from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Brittany, and most of them give themselves away at the front: Mac means son in Scottish and Irish Gaelic, Irish Ó (O’) means descendant, Welsh ap and ab mean son of and shrank into the P of Price and the B of Bowen, Cornish names start with Tre, Pol and Pen, and Manx names begin with C, K or Q where a Mac used to be. MacDonald, O’Neill, Price, Penrose and Quayle are one of each.
This guide is part of our Scottish Names collection. Browse the full Scottish Names directory, or pair this with our Celtic first names guide for the names inside these surnames.
It is written for anyone holding a family tree with a surname that looks Celtic and wanting to know which Celtic country it belongs to. That matters more than people think: the same Gaelic name can be Scottish or Irish, a P at the front can be a Welsh patronym in disguise, and a Manx Kelly is not the same story as an Irish one. Below you will find a checker, the prefix rules, 100 surnames labelled by nation, and the meaning of each one from a source we opened.
Two Scots Abroad · Scottish names
Celtic surname origin checker
Type a surname to see whether it is Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Cornish, Manx or Breton, and what it means. 100 surnames are checked; for anything else, the checker reads the prefix (Mac, O’, ap, Tre, Pol, Pen, Le) and tells you what it suggests.
Nothing matches that. Clear a filter or try a shorter search.
How to tell a Celtic surname by its prefix
Look at the first few letters, then the last one. Gaelic surnames were built by putting a word for son or descendant in front of a name; Welsh ones by putting ap in front or, later, an s on the end; Cornish ones mostly came from farms and hills. The table below covers about three in four of the surnames in this guide.
| Prefix or ending | Means | Where | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac, Mc, M’ | son | Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man (until the 17th century) | MacDonald, McMahon, MacLeod |
| Nic | daughter of a Mac (Gaelic form) | Scotland, Ireland | Nic Mhathúna (a woman named McMahon, in Irish) |
| Ó, O’ | descendant, grandson | Ireland | O’Neill, O’Brien, Murphy (Ó Murchadha) |
| Ní | descendant’s daughter | Ireland | Ní Bhriain (a woman named O’Brien, in Irish) |
| Gille, Gil, Myley | servant of | Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man | Gilchrist, MacLean, MacBride, Mylechreest |
| ap, ab | son of | Wales | Price (ap Rhys), Bowen (ab Owain), Upjohn (ap John) |
| -s | son of (English-style ending) | Wales | Jones, Davies, Evans, Roberts |
| Tre, Pol, Pen | homestead; pool or well; hill or headland | Cornwall (Pen also in Wales) | Trelawny, Polkinghorne, Penrose |
| C, K, Q at the start | the end of a lost Mac | Isle of Man | Quayle, Kneale, Corkill |
| Le | the | Brittany | Le Goff, Le Bihan, Le Guen |
One wee warning before you start. A prefix tells you the language a name was made in, not where your family lived. Kennedy is Ó Cinnéide, an Irish form, yet it has Scottish origins too; MacDonald is Scottish and Irish; and several Gaelic surnames are Norse first names wearing a Mac. Clan names add another fankle, because families who lived on a clan’s lands often took the chief’s name without being related, as our guide to Scottish clan surnames explains.
Mac and Ó: Gaelic surnames from Scotland and Ireland
Mac means son, and Ó means descendant. In Irish a man’s surname is Ó or Mac plus a name in the genitive, so Ó Dónaill is literally descendant of Dónal and Mac Siúrtáin is son of Jordan, as the Irish name page sets out. Women take Ní and Nic instead, and the Scottish Gaelic surname list notes the same switch from Mac to Nic in Scotland. In English the prefixes were often trimmed: O’ can vanish entirely (Murphy, Kelly, Ryan), and Mac, Mc and M’ are interchangeable spellings of one word.
Scotland held on to the old patronymic system for a long time. It died out in the Lowlands after the 15th century, but the Gaelic-speaking Highlands did not give it up until the 18th century; a man from Lismore recorded in 1585 was John Roy M’Ean Vc Ewin Vc Dougall Vc Ean, four generations in one name. Ó, by contrast, never took root in Manx names, and the Scottish patronyms on record use Mac. That gives you a canny rule of thumb: an O’ points to Ireland, while a Mac could be either.
Some of the best-known Gaelic surnames are not patronyms at all. Campbell is caimbeul, crooked mouth, and Cameron is camshron, crooked nose, both nicknames that hardened into clan names. Occupational surnames were rare among Gaelic speakers, which makes the few that exist worth knowing: Gow is the smith, MacIntyre the son of the carpenter, and MacPherson the son of the parson. Our guide to Scottish occupational surnames has the Scots and English trade names that sit alongside them.
MacDonald
Nation: Scotland and Ireland. From: MacDhòmhnaill. Meaning: son of Dòmhnall (world + might rule).
The patronym of Clan Donald, one of the largest Scottish clans. Dòmhnall joins two old elements, world and rule, so the name behind every MacDonald and McDonald means something like world ruler. It is both Scottish and Irish, which is why the checker labels it with both.
MacLeod
Nation: Scotland. From: MacLeòid. Meaning: son of Leòd, from Old Norse Liótr.
Son of Leòd, and Leòd is the Old Norse Liótr. MacLeod is one of a run of Hebridean surnames with a Norse first name inside a Gaelic frame, alongside MacIver (Ivarr) and Lamont (Logmaðr, lawman). Our list of Scottish Viking surnames covers the rest of that crossover.
MacGregor
Nation: Scotland. From: MacGriogair. Meaning: son of Griogar (Gregory).
Son of Griogar, the Gaelic form of Gregory. The surname was banned in Scotland several times before the 18th century, in an effort to clamp down on the clan, so for a time simply using it was against the law.
Gilchrist
Nation: Scotland. From: Gille Chrìost. Meaning: servant of Christ.
Gille Chrìost, servant of Christ. Gille names honour a saint rather than a father: MacLean is the son of the servant of Saint John and MacBride the son of the servant of Saint Brigid. On the Isle of Man, Mac and Gille fused, and MacGillchrist became Mylechreest.
Kennedy
Nation: Ireland and Scotland. From: Ó Cinnéide. Meaning: grandson of Cinnéidigh, helmet-headed.
Ó Cinnéide, grandson of Cinnéidigh, from Irish words meaning helmet-headed. Kennedy is a good example of a surname that is Irish in form but has Scottish origins as well, so the prefix alone cannot tell you which side of the North Channel your Kennedys came from.
Galbraith
Nation: Scotland. From: Mac a’ Bhreatannaich. Meaning: stranger-Briton (gall + Breathnach).
Gall plus Breathnach, the stranger-Briton. Its Gaelic form is Mac a’ Bhreatannaich, and the earliest recorded chief, Gillcrist Bretnach, appears in 1193. His name suggests Welsh or North British ancestry: Celtic meeting Celtic inside one surname.
For the full Highland picture, with 100 Gaelic surnames and their Gaelic spellings, see our Gaelic last names guide, and for how these names differ from Lowland ones, our guide to Highland and Lowland surnames. Irish entries in the list below are named and labelled, but they are only the start of a much bigger story.
Ap and ab: how Welsh surnames were made
Wales used patronyms, not surnames, until the 15th century and later. A man was known by his name linked to his father’s with ap or ab, son of, or ferch, daughter of: Evan, son of Thomas, was Evan ap Thomas, and his son John was John ab Evan. In 1292, 48% of Welsh names were patronymics. Fixed surnames spread among the gentry under Henry VIII, more slowly among everyone else, and in some rural areas the old habit lasted until the early 19th century, according to the Welsh name page.
When the names did freeze, two things happened. Sometimes the ap or ab fused onto the father’s name, which is where Price (ap Rhys), Powell (ap Hywel), Pugh (ap Huw), Pritchard (ap Rhisiart), Parry (ap Harry), Probert (ap Robert), Bevan (ab Ifan), Bowen (ab Owain) and Upjohn (ap John) come from. More often the ap was dropped and an English-style s added, giving Jones, Davies, Evans, Roberts and Williams. Either way, the surname is just a first name in a wee disguise.
Because the stock of first names was small, so was the stock of surnames. Evans, Jones, Williams, Davies and Thomas were all in the top ten surnames in England and Wales in 2000, and an analysis commissioned by the Welsh Government found that 718,000 people in Wales, nearly 35% of the population, have a surname of Welsh origin. It is not unusual for five or more of the Welsh rugby team’s starting XV to be called Jones, none of them related.
Price
Nation: Wales. From: ap Rhys. Meaning: son of Rhys.
Ap Rhys, son of Rhys. The Price surname page gives a measure of how Welsh it is: in the 1881 census it was 38.2 times more common in Radnorshire than the British average, followed by Brecknockshire and Herefordshire. It was probably first spelled Pryce and said Preese.
Lloyd
Nation: Wales. From: Llwyd. Meaning: grey.
From llwyd, usually translated as grey, and an example of the other kind of Welsh surname: a description that stuck. Lloyd was a fixed epithet passed down from as early as the 14th century, and the Welsh spelling Llwyd is coming back.
Vaughan
Nation: Wales. From: Fychan (bychan). Meaning: small, younger.
From bychan, small, which mutates to fychan and was used for a younger sibling. It matches the English surname Little and the Breton Le Bihan, one of several surname cousins across the Brittonic languages.
If your Welsh surname is a first name with an s on the end, it is almost certainly a patronym. If it starts with P or B and the rest looks like a Welsh first name, try putting ap or ab back in front. And if it is a colour, Lloyd, Wynn (gwyn, white) or Gough (coch, red), it began as a nickname.
Tre, Pol and Pen: Cornish surnames
By Tre, Pol and Pen, shall ye know all Cornishmen. Richard Carew recorded a version of the rhyme in his Survey of Cornwall in 1602, and William Camden gave a longer one: By Tre, Ros, Pol, Lan, Caer and Pen, you may know the most Cornishmen. Tre is a settlement or homestead, Pol a pond, lake or well, and Pen a hill or headland, according to the Tre Pol and Pen page. Cornish surnames and place names usually take the stress on the second syllable, so it is tre-LAW-nee, not TRE-law-nee.
Most Cornish surnames were fixed by the end of the 15th century, the Cornish surnames page says, and the place-name ones are the easiest to read once you know a handful of words. Nans is a valley (Nankervis, valley of the deer), Ros a heath (Rosewarne, alder heath) and Chi a house (Chenoweth, new house). The same habit of naming people after farms runs through the Norse world too, as our guide to Norse place names shows.
Penrose
Nation: Cornwall. From: Penn Ros. Meaning: head of the moor.
Penn ros, head of the moor. There is no single place behind it: places called Penrose are found in ten Cornish parishes, several times in Wales and once in Herefordshire, so two Penroses need not be related at all.
Angove
Nation: Cornwall. From: An gov. Meaning: the smith.
An gov, the smith, and the most common Cornish occupational surname. The Angove page notes that in the 1881 census the name was restricted to Cornwall and barely found outwith it, and Smith was rarer there than elsewhere. Its cousins are the Scottish Gow and the Breton Le Goff.
Pascoe
Nation: Cornwall. From: Pask. Meaning: Easter.
From Pask, Easter, and described as the most common Cornish name. It is a Cornish pet form of Pascal, with spellings including Pasco and Pascow.
Chenoweth
Nation: Cornwall. From: Chi nowydh. Meaning: new house.
Chi nowydh, new house. A good example of a Cornish surname that does not start with Tre, Pol or Pen but is just as Cornish, along with Curnow, which simply means a Cornishman.
Quayle, Kneale and Corlett: Manx surnames
Manx surnames are Gaelic names that lost their Mac. In the early 16th century the Mac prefix was used almost everywhere on the island; by the 17th it had nearly vanished. Because Mac was unstressed, its final c sound was carried over to the start of the father’s name, so Mac Phaayl became Quayle, Mac Néill became Kneale and Mac Thorcaill became Corkill. That is why so many Manx surnames start with C, K or Q, the Manx surnames page explains, and why the Irish Ó never appears.
The island’s history is in the names. Arthur William Moore looked at 170 Manx surnames in use at the start of the 19th century and found about 65% were Celtic and about 17.5% Norse-Gaelic: Corlett is Mac Thorliot, from a Norse name built on Thor, and Corkill is Thorkell, the same name as the Scottish Torquil. In the 1881 census Kelly was the most common surname on the island with 2,118 people, followed by Quayle (1,349) and Corlett (1,139). Quayle was 375 times more likely to be found on Man than in the rest of Great Britain.
Quayle
Nation: Isle of Man. From: Mac Phaayl. Meaning: son of Paul.
Mac Phaayl, son of Paul, and the same name as the Scottish Mac Phàil and Irish Mac Pháil. On the Isle of Man it was the second most common surname in 1881 and third in the 1986 phone book.
Corlett
Nation: Isle of Man. From: Mac Thorliot. Meaning: son of Þorliótr (Thor + bright).
Mac Thorliot, from an Old Norse personal name of Þórr and ljótr, bright. It appears as Corlett in 1504 and MacCorleot in 1511, and was second on the island in 1986. A Gaelic prefix on a Norse name, in the same family as the Viking surnames of Scandinavia.
Le Goff and Le Bihan: Breton surnames
Breton surnames often carry the article Le, the French spelling of Breton ar, the. Le Goff is the smith, Le Bihan the small one, Le Guen the white or blessed one, and Le Floc’h the page. The Le Bihan page notes that bihan is cognate with the Welsh bychan that gave us Vaughan. Put them side by side and you can see the Celtic family resemblance in surnames as well as first names.
| Meaning | Scotland | Ireland | Wales | Cornwall | Brittany |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| smith | Gow | Gowan | Angove | Le Goff | |
| small | Vaughan | Le Bihan | |||
| white | Wynn | Le Guen | |||
| black or dark | MacDougall (black stranger) | Duffy, Dunne | |||
| red | Flanagan (ruddy) | Gough | Couch |
Which Celtic surnames are the most common?
Jones, Davies, Williams and Evans in Wales, Kelly on the Isle of Man, and O’Sullivan among the most numerous in Ireland. The surname pages we used put Jones among the three most common surnames in Wales, Williams third and Evans fifth, and describe O’Sullivan as the third most numerous surname in Ireland. In Scotland, Campbell is one of the most common surnames and a Gaelic nickname, not a Mac. Pascoe is called the most common Cornish name, and Angove the most common Cornish trade name.
Beyond the top few, Celtic surnames tell you about place more than numbers. In 1881 Pritchard was over 30 times the national average on Anglesey, Price 38 times the average in Radnorshire, and Quayle was overwhelmingly a Manx name. If your surname is in the list below, the label is the place to start your search, not the end of it.
Quick list: 100 Celtic surnames by nation
| Surname | Nation | Original form | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron | Scotland | Camshron | crooked nose (cam + sròn), or from places called Cameron | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Campbell | Scotland | Caimbeul | crooked mouth | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Ferguson | Scotland | Macfhearghus | son of Fergus (man + vigour) | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| Galbraith | Scotland | Mac a’ Bhreatannaich | stranger-Briton (gall + Breathnach) | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Gilchrist | Scotland | Gille Chrìost | servant of Christ | Gille (servant of) |
| Gow | Scotland | Gobha | smith | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Kennedy | Ireland and Scotland | Ó Cinnéide | grandson of Cinnéidigh, helmet-headed | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Lamont | Scotland | from Lagman | from Old Norse Logmaðr, lawman | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| MacAlister | Scotland | son of Alasdair (Alexander) | Mac or Mc (son of) | |
| MacAulay | Scotland and Ireland | MacAmhlaidh / Mac Amhalghaidh | son of Amhalghaidh (origin uncertain) | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacBride | Scotland and Ireland | Mac Gille Bríghde | son of the servant of Saint Brigid | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacDonald | Scotland and Ireland | MacDhòmhnaill | son of Dòmhnall (world + might rule) | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacDougall | Scotland | Mac Dhùgaill | son of Dougal (dubh + gall, black stranger) | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacFarlane | Scotland | Mac Phàrlain | son of Parlan | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacGregor | Scotland | MacGriogair | son of Griogar (Gregory) | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacIntyre | Scotland and Ireland | Mac an t-Saoir | son of the craftsman or carpenter | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacIver | Scotland | Mac Íomhair | son of Íomhar, from Old Norse Ivarr | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacKenzie | Scotland | Mac Coinnich | son of Coinneach, comely or handsome | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacLachlan | Scotland and Ireland | MacLachlainn | son of Lachlann | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacLean | Scotland | Mac Gille Eathain | son of the servant of Saint John | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacLeod | Scotland | MacLeòid | son of Leòd, from Old Norse Liótr | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacMillan | Scotland | Clann an Mhaoil | from Maolan, the tonsured one | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| MacPherson | Scotland | Mac a’ Phearsain | son of the parson | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| Mackintosh | Scotland | Mac an Tòisich | son of the leader or chief | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| Munro | Scotland | Rothach | man from the River Roe (County Londonderry) | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Murdoch | Scotland and Ireland | Muireadhach / Murchadh | mariner, or sea-warrior (muir, sea) | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Byrne | Ireland | Ó Broin | descendant of Bran | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Carroll | Ireland | Ó Cearbhaill | fierce in battle | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Donnelly | Ireland | Ó Donnghaile | descendant of Donnghal (dark + valour) | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Doyle | Ireland | Ó Dubhghaill | descendant of Dubhghall, black stranger | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Duffy | Ireland | Ó Dubhthaigh | descendant of Dubthach (black) | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Dunne | Ireland | Ó Duinn | dark or brown | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Flanagan | Ireland | Ó Flannagáin | from flann, red or ruddy | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Gallagher | Ireland | Ó Gallchobhair | descendant of the foreign helper | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Kavanagh | Ireland | Caomhánach | belonging to Caomhán | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Kelly | Ireland and Isle of Man | Ó Ceallaigh | descendant of Ceallach | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Maguire | Ireland | Mac Uidhir | son of Odhar, sallow or pale-faced | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| McCarthy | Ireland | son of Cárthach | Mac or Mc (son of) | |
| McLaughlin | Ireland | Mac Lochlainn | son of Lochlann | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| McMahon | Ireland | Mac Mathúna | son of the bear | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| Murphy | Ireland | Ó Murchadha / Mac Murchaidh | descendant of Murchadh, sea-warrior | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Nolan | Ireland | Ó Nualláin | from nuall, famous or noble | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| O’Brien | Ireland | Ó Briain | descendant of Brian | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| O’Connell | Ireland | Ó Conaill | descendant of Conall (hound + valour) | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| O’Donnell | Ireland | Ó Dónaill | descendant of Dónal | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| O’Neill | Ireland | Ó Néill | descendant of Niall (champion) | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| O’Sullivan | Ireland | Ó Súilleabháin | descendant of Súileabhán (meaning uncertain) | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Quinn | Ireland | Ó Coinn / Mac Cuinn | descendant of Conn | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Ryan | Ireland | Ó Riain | descendant of Rian (meaning unknown) | Ó or O’ (descendant of) |
| Sweeney | Ireland and Scotland | Mac Suibhne | son of Suibhne, pleasant | Mac or Mc (son of) |
| Bevan | Wales | ab Ifan | son of Evan | ap or ab (son of, Welsh) |
| Bowen | Wales | ab Owain | son of Owen | ap or ab (son of, Welsh) |
| Davies | Wales | David + s | son of David | Welsh -s (son of) |
| Evans | Wales | Ifan + s | son of Evan (Ifan, a Welsh John) | Welsh -s (son of) |
| Gough | Wales | Coch | red | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Griffiths | Wales | Gruffudd + s | son of Gruffudd | Welsh -s (son of) |
| Howell | Wales | Hywel | from Hywel | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Hughes | Wales | Huw + s | son of Huw (fire, inspiration) | Welsh -s (son of) |
| Jones | Wales | ap Siôn | son of John | Welsh -s (son of) |
| Lloyd | Wales | Llwyd | grey | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Morgan | Wales | Morgan | from the Old Welsh personal name Morcant | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Owen | Wales | Owain | from Owain, noble-born | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Parry | Wales | ap Harry | son of Harry | ap or ab (son of, Welsh) |
| Powell | Wales | ap Hywel | son of Hywel | ap or ab (son of, Welsh) |
| Price | Wales | ap Rhys | son of Rhys | ap or ab (son of, Welsh) |
| Pritchard | Wales | ap Rhisiart | son of Richard | ap or ab (son of, Welsh) |
| Probert | Wales | ap Robert | son of Robert | ap or ab (son of, Welsh) |
| Pugh | Wales | ap Huw | son of Hugh | ap or ab (son of, Welsh) |
| Rees | Wales | Rhys | from Rhys | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Roberts | Wales | Robert + s | son of Robert | Welsh -s (son of) |
| Upjohn | Wales | ap John | son of John | ap or ab (son of, Welsh) |
| Vaughan | Wales | Fychan (bychan) | small, younger | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Williams | Wales | ap Gwilym | son of William | Welsh -s (son of) |
| Wynn | Wales | Gwyn | white | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Angove | Cornwall | An gov | the smith | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Bligh | Cornwall | Bligh | wolf | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Chenoweth | Cornwall | Chi nowydh | new house | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Curnow | Cornwall | Kernow | Cornish, a Cornishman | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Jago | Cornwall | Jago | Cornish form of James | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Nankervis | Cornwall | Nans kervys | valley of the deer | Tre, Pol, Pen and other Cornish places |
| Pascoe | Cornwall | Pask | Easter | Nicknames, trades and first names |
| Penprase | Cornwall | Penn Pras | head of the meadow | Tre, Pol, Pen and other Cornish places |
| Penrose | Cornwall | Penn Ros | head of the moor | Tre, Pol, Pen and other Cornish places |
| Rosewarne | Cornwall | Ros gwern | alder heath | Tre, Pol, Pen and other Cornish places |
| Trelawny | Cornwall | Trelawny | from Trelawny; tre, homestead | Tre, Pol, Pen and other Cornish places |
| Trengrouse | Cornwall | Tre an Grows | farm at the cross | Tre, Pol, Pen and other Cornish places |
| Trevelyan | Cornwall | Tre Elyan | farmstead of Elyan | Tre, Pol, Pen and other Cornish places |
| Corkill | Isle of Man | Mac Thorcaill | son of Thorkell (Thor’s kettle) | Manx C, K or Q |
| Corlett | Isle of Man | Mac Thorliot | son of Þorliótr (Thor + bright) | Manx C, K or Q |
| Costain | Isle of Man | Mac Austain | son of Austin | Manx C, K or Q |
| Cregeen | Isle of Man | O’Criocain | Criocan’s son | Manx C, K or Q |
| Cubbon | Isle of Man | Mac Ghiobúin | son of Ghiobúin | Manx C, K or Q |
| Kewley | Isle of Man | Mac Amhlaoibh | son of Amhlaoibh | Manx C, K or Q |
| Kneale | Isle of Man | Mac Néill | son of Niall | Manx C, K or Q |
| Mylechreest | Isle of Man | MacGillchrist | son of the servant of Christ | Gille (servant of) |
| Quayle | Isle of Man | Mac Phaayl | son of Paul | Manx C, K or Q |
| Le Bihan | Brittany | Bihan | small | Breton Le |
| Le Floc’h | Brittany | Ar Floc’h | the page | Breton Le |
| Le Goff | Brittany | Le Goff | the smith | Breton Le |
| Le Guen | Brittany | Gwenn | white or blessed | Breton Le |
FAQ about Celtic last names
Is Mac Scottish or Irish?
Both. Mac means son in Scottish Gaelic and Irish, and many Mac surnames, MacDonald and MacAulay among them, are found in both countries. Mac and Mc are the same prefix spelled two ways. It was also used on the Isle of Man until the 17th century, when it was dropped and left names like Quayle and Kneale.
What does the O’ in Irish surnames mean?
It is the Irish Ó, meaning descendant or grandson, followed by an ancestor’s name: O’Neill is Ó Néill, descendant of Niall. A woman’s form is Ní. The O’ is often dropped in English, so Murphy and Kelly are Ó names too.
Are Welsh surnames Celtic?
Yes, though they hide it. Most come from Welsh patronyms: either the ap or ab fused to the father’s name (Price, Powell, Bowen) or an English s was added (Jones, Davies, Evans). Others are Welsh descriptions, such as Lloyd, grey, and Vaughan, small.
How can I tell if my surname is Celtic?
Check the start: Mac, Mc, O’, Gil, Tre, Pol, Pen, a Manx C, K or Q, or a Welsh P or B before a first name. Then check the meaning in a source and, above all, an early record of your own family, because the same surname can arise in more than one country.
What is the most common Celtic surname?
Jones is among the three most common surnames in Wales and is consistently in the top ten in the United States. Among Gaelic surnames, O’Sullivan is the third most numerous in Ireland, Campbell is one of the most common in Scotland, and Kelly was the most common on the Isle of Man in 1881.
Final thoughts on Celtic last names
A Celtic surname is a wee history lesson in a few letters: a father’s name, a farm, a nickname or a saint, frozen at the moment a family stopped changing it. Read the prefix first, then the name inside it, and the nation usually follows.
If your name turns out to be a place rather than a person, our guide to Scottish place-name surnames picks up the trail.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Irish name (Ó, Mac, Ní and Nic)
- Wikipedia, Welsh name (patronymics and modern surnames)
- Wikipedia, Scottish surnames
- Wikipedia, List of Scottish Gaelic surnames
- Wikipedia, Cornish surnames
- Wikipedia, Tre Pol and Pen
- Wikipedia, Manx surnames (1881 census and 1986 directory tables)
- Wikipedia, Price (surname), 1881 census distribution
- Wikipedia, Angove
- Wikipedia, Le Bihan
- Wikipedia surname pages for each of the other surnames in the list, checked October 2026
