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.
Gillespie (surname) Gillespie (surname) Gillespie () is both a masculine given name, and a surname in the English language. The given name is an Anglicised form of the Gaelic "Gille Easbaig" (also rendered "Gilleasbaig"), meaning "bishop's servant". The surname "Gillespie" is an Anglicised form of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Easbuig", and the Irish "Mac Giolla Easpaig", both of which mean "servant of the bishop". The given name itself is derived from a word of Latin origin. Specifically, the Old Irish "epscop" being derived from the Latin "episcopus". An early example of the name in Scotland occurs in a charter dated 1175–1199,