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.
Mongan (surname) Mongan (surname) Mongan is an Irish surname anglicised. It derives from the ancient and possibly pre 10th century Gaelic Ó Mongáin ‘descendant of Mongan’. The latter was a nickname for the original chief of the clan, who presumably had a particularly luxurious or wild growth of hair. Many, perhaps the majority of Irish Gaelic surnames were nicknames for the original chief or leader, see Mongán mac Fiachnai this is a good example. The derivation is 'mong', meaning long-haired. Three branches of this clan originally existed in ancient Ireland. These were a sept in Ulster which gave its name to the