M-kie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland
• Scotland

Etymology of M-kie

The background history of the name M-kie starts in ancient Scotland among the Pictish people. The name M-kie is derived from the personal name Aodh, a cognate of Hugh. The Gaelic form of the name is usually Mac Aoidh and in Inverness, the Gaelic form of the name M-kie is Mac Ai.

"Nothing certain is known of the origin of the northern Mackays beyond the fact that they were early connected with Moray, and may have been a part of the ancient Clann Morgunn. The Inverness-shire Mackays are usually called in Gaelic Mac Ai, that is, MacDhai, or Davidson; they formed a branch of Clan Chattan." 1

M-kie Coat of Arms Creation

When Queen Mary was at Inverness, Mackay of Farr disregarded her summons to appear before her. Because of this a commission was granted to the Earl of Sutherland to invade the lands of Strathnaver. He besieged Castle Borve, which was held by a small force of twenty reso-lute clansmen, but the castle was taken and demolished. (Canon were used for the first time in the North of Scotland in this siege). It is said that when Mackay was asked by the Earl of Sutherland to exhibit his charter for his lands he put his hand, clasping a dirk, upon the table and exclaimed "Lamh laidir," the Latin of which, "mane forti" (with a strong hand), has been the motto of the clan ever since. 2

Early Origins of the M-kie family

Early History of the M-kie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our M-kie research. Another 299 words (21 lines of text) covering the years 1329, 1408, 1411, 1429, 1506, 1575, 1640, 1689, 1692, 1726, 1873, 1890 and 1940 are included under the topic Early M-kie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

M-kie Spelling Variations

Prior to the invention of the printing press in the last hundred years, documents were basically unique. Names were written according to sound, and often appeared differently each time they were recorded. Spelling variations of the name M-kie include MacKay, MacCay, MacQuey, MacQuoid, MacKaw, MacKy, MacKye, MacCoy, McCoy and many more.

Early Notables of the M-kie family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was Hugh Mackay (c. 1640-1692), Scottish general, Major-General Commanding in Chief in Scotland in 1689, killed at the Battle of Steinkeerke; and...
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early M-kie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the M-kie family to Ireland

Some of the M-kie family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 133 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the M-kie family

The freedom of the North American colonies was enticing, and many Scots left to make the great crossing. It was a long and hard journey, but its reward was a place where there was more land than people and tolerance was far easier to come by. Many of these people came together to fight for a new nation in the American War of Independence, while others remained loyal to the old order as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of Scots in North America have recovered much of this heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and other such organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important and early immigrants to North America bearing the name of M-kie: Denis McCoy and his wife Catharine, who were colonists in Amelia county, Virginia in 1719; Agnes, Angus, Alexander, Anna, Catherine, Daniel, George, James, John, Margaret, Neil, Samuel and William McKay, who all arrived in Pennsylvania in 1772.