MacDonald? or MacDonald of the isles?

[Macseobang]

I too two DNA test not the expensive one yet. I am R-M269. I went to the Donald Clan and took that one, and then took another my wife got me both came out the same.

Do you remember which tests you took specifically (company, test type)? Since you haven't done the expensive test (Big Y), I'm assuming you know you are Clanranald and of the Isles through a paper trail genealogy alone because you would need to have the Big Y to know that through the Clan Donald DNA Project. Just curious, but when you say you have solid documentation of your line what types of documents do you have and how were they passed down? I want to know what kinds of things I can potentially find while working on my own genealogy.

I don't believe we are talking about the same John and Margaret because my ancestors didn't go to Nova Scotia like many did, but they came into Quebec and then trekked to Perth, Ontario.

[Nathan]

My ancestors are from Uig, then Staffin, on the forth end of the Trotternish Peninsula of Skye. Viking blood.

I have documents that show we have spelled our name Macdonald - no big D in the middle - for 11 generations now.

My grandfather Murdoch told me Macdonald with the small d was an indication of Island Scots while the big D MacDonalds were highlanders.

I have delved into this pretty extensively and apart from family lore that’s usually incorrect outside of that family, there is no consistent significance to spelling variations of MacDonald. My family are Hebridean stock. We were MacDhomnuill then McDonald now MacDonald.

The English spelling is only an approximation of our real name and the variations are meaningless for the most part.

[Riverkilt]

What ever floats your boat. As you said, it IS true for my particular family and I have documents to verify it.

I do miss an old Facebook group called "Little d damn it" for Macdonalds.

[Nathan]

What ever floats your boat. As you said, it IS true for my particular family and I have documents to verify it.

I do miss an old Facebook group called "Little d damn it" for Macdonalds.

I’m just saying that the small d doesn’t guarantee islands versus Highlands. My MacDonalds are all islanders and we use the big D. The chiefs all use the small d at the moment. It’s pretty haphazard.

[Riverkilt]

For sure the names get changed - if folks let others do that.

My great great grandfather John Macdonald, Nova Scotia immigrant from Skye, had his name spelled with a big D in a history book...but he taught his grandson, my Grandfather Murdoch Macdonald, who taught me, the importance of not letting others misspell or change our name from Macdonald to MacDonald or McDonald.

My family seems to be one where the little d was important and has been defended for at least 9 generations.