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.
Mac Amhalghaidh "Nic Amhalghaidh". This feminine surname is actually a contracted form of "iníon Mhic Amhalghaidh", which translates into English as "daughter of "Mac Amhalghaidh"". The form of the surname for married females is "Bean Mhic Amhalghaidh", which translates into English as "wife of "Mac Amhalghaidh""; this feminine surname can also be represented in the contracted form "Mhic Amhalghaidh". A cognate of the Irish "Mac Amhalghaidh" is the Scottish Gaelic "MacAmhalghaidh". The feminine form of this Scottish Gaelic surname is "NicAmhalghaidh". This feminine name is composed of the prefix "Nic-", which is an abbreviated form of the Scottish Gaelic "nighean mhic" or