Patronymic was used by illegitimate royal children who were acknowledged as such by their fathers. The use of "Mac" in some form was prevalent in Scottish Gaelic, Irish and Manx, in all of which it denotes "son". "Mc" is also a frequent anglicisation in both Scotland and Ireland. In Ireland, the forms "Mag" and "M'" are encountered. The prefix "Mac" is used to form a patronym, such as "Mac Coinnich" – or the anglicized 'Mackenzie' – son of Coinneach/Kenneth. The female equivalent of "Mac" is "Nic", condensed from "nighean mhic" (in Scottish Gaelic) or "iníon mhic" (in Irish), both meaning daughter.
Crowley (surname) three-quarters of the family originating from there. The Irish "O Cruadhlaoich" or "Ua Cruadhlaoich", a Gaelic name meaning "descendant of the hard hero" or "descendant of the hardy warrior", was anglicised to "Crowley" or "O'Crowley". Variants include Crawley, Crowly, O'Crowley, Croaley, Croawley, O'Crowly and many more. Crowley (surname) The Irish surname Crowley was first found in Moylurg, in the County Roscommon, where they started as a branch of the MacDermots. It is from Teige, a Prince of Moylurg, down to Cruadhlaoch that the line of descent for the Crowleys begins. A junior branch of the Crowley family also emerged and