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The Viking Surnames of Britain and Ireland

Chapters:
0:00 Viking Surnames
0:50 McIver and MacLeod
1:38 Bono, Liam Neeson and Brendan Gleeson
2:04 Viking Popularity
2:19 Surnames Connected to Old Norse
2:32 Viking Influence on Britain and Ireland

MacLeod, McIver, Rodgers, Neeson and Gleeson are just some examples of surnames that are connected to the Vikings. Research from the Centre for Nordic Studies, University of the Highlands and Islands and the TV channel HISTORY looked at the Viking legacy on surnames a few years ago.

One main findings of the research was that people with surnames with son at end may be connected to the Vikings, popular names such as Henderson and Hobson for instance.

Dr Alexandra Sanmark, from the University of the Highlands and Islands, explained: “The people of the Viking Age did not have family names, but instead used the system where the children were named after their father, or occasionally their mother.

“So, for example the son of Ivar would be given their own first name and then in addition ‘Ivar’s son’. A daughter would be Ivar’s daughter.

Mac or Mc is simply the surname prefix used in Scotland and Ireland meaning son of. McIvar therefore means son of Ivar. Equally, MacLeod means "son of Leòd", with Leod derived from the Old Norse Liótr ("meaning ugly,"), which was a popular personal name in medieval Norway and Iceland.

The Clan MacLeod of Lewis claims its descent from Leod, who according to MacLeod tradition was a younger son of Olaf the Black, a 13th century King of the Isles, the NorseGaelic kingdom that encompassed various Scottish isles. This is just one interpretation however.

Please let me know what your surname is in the comments below and any interesting connections.

Irish celebrities whose surnames indicate Viking ancestry include U2 frontman Paul Hewson, better known as Bono, Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers and actors such as Liam Neeson and Brendan Gleeson. Brendan Gleeson, an actor I love, looks a bit like what I imagine a Viking to have looked like.

Sources:

Are you the descendant of a Viking? These are the Irish and British surnames that suggest you could be https://www.irishpost.com/lifestyle/...

Are YOU a descendant of the Vikings? Experts reveal the surnames that suggest you could be related to the fierce Scandinavian warriors https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...

Britannica, Mac https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mac...

Clan MacLeod https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Ma...

McIver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McIver

English surnames from Old Norse https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Catego...

Clans&Dynasties Viking Surnames in Ireland    • Viking Surnames in Ireland  


#vikings #history #surname