De-Anglicisation of Names

[Cyndi]

Thank you! Do you know what kind of name Black is? That was my dad's name before he was adopted as a baby. I wonder about my roots there.

[slohairt]

Thank you! Do you know what kind of name Black is? That was my dad's name before he was adopted as a baby. I wonder about my roots there.

You're welcome, Cyndi!

BLACK Obviously, this is one of those surnames that could be of any origin. However, if we decide (arbitrarily) to narrow it down to the U.K. and Ireland, the following would be some possibilities:

1) Anglo-Saxon; from blaec, meaning...black!

2) Norse; from bleikr, meaning pale. (Quite the opposite!) I think this also the etymology of the word bleach and bleak, incidentally.

3) Gaelic; There are many Gaelic surnames, both Irish and Scottish, which contain the element dubh, or black. Here are some good examples:

Mac Gille Duibh (SCOTTISH GAELIC)
Mac Giolla Duibh (IRISH)

Both of these names mean son of the servant of the dark (coloured) one, or son of the dark youth, depending on one's interpretation. The are both pronounced MAC GILL-A DOO or MAC GILL-A DUV.

Mac Duibh (SCOTTISH GAELIC or IRISH) Son of the dark one. Usually Anglicised as M(a)cDuff or Duff. Pronounced MAC DOO or MAC DUV)

Sláinte!