The name Zachary and the Irish origin of the Macaulay family of Lewis

Brianann MacAmhlaidh
23 January 2011

The Macaulay family, historically centred in Uig on the west-coast of Lewis, is commonly said to be of
Norse origin. The clear majority of the place names on Lewis originate from Old Norse, archaeological
finds confirm Norse settlement there from at least the 10th century,1 and the island was once part of the
Norse-Gaelic Kingdom of the Isles which dissolved in the mid 13th century. Historically, the leading
family on Lewis was the Sìol Torcaill branch of Clann Leòid. The surname, and various personal names
borne by this family are distinctly Norse in origin,2 and the family has long-claimed a Norse ancestry.
Although the surname Macaulay is known to have several etymological origins, the particular surname
borne by the Macaulay family is also thought to be Norse in origin — derived from a Gaelic form of
the Old Norse personal name Óláfr.3

However, Scottish surnames derived from patronyms are not always an accurate identifier of a family's
ethnic origin,4 especially so in lands once encompassed within the hybrid Norse-Gaelic Kingdom of the
Isles. For example, the main branches of the Hebridean Clann Dòmhnaill derive their surnames from a
Gaelic personal name,5 yet historians have long speculated that the family is of Norse origin, and recent
Y-DNA studies are thought to confirm this.6 As early as the 10th century, Gaelic names were used by
Scandinavian families in Britain and Ireland, and vice versa.7 To illustrate this point we need to go no
further than the name Óláfr already mentioned. For example, the 10th century Amlaíb mac Ilduilb, King
of Scots, bore a Gaelic form of Óláfr, yet he descended in the paternal-line from the 9th century Cináed
mac Ailpín, King of the Picts.8 The Clann Amhlaoibh centred in Ulster, and the Clann Amhlaoibh
centred in Munster, both derive their surnames from Gaelic forms of Óláfr. Furthermore, there was
another Clann Amhlaoibh historically seated in Leinster. These three unrelated families are all
considered to be of native-Irish stock, and originated as cadet branches of once powerful Gaelic
families.9 In contrast to these mediaeval families, the earliest attested member of the Macaulay family
only appears on record in the early 17th century.10

A curious personal name was once commonly borne by the Macaulay family — the name Zachary.11 In
most cases, Zachary is an English form of the Greek Zacharias, which is in turn derived from a
Hebrew name, meaning “God has remembered”.12 However, the Zachary borne by the Macaulay family
is thought to have a entirely different etymology. In Modern Scottish Gaelic, the particular Zachary
1 Dunwell, Cowie, Bruce, et al. (1995), pp. 719–752.
2 The Scottish Gaelic MacLeòid is from the Old Norse Ljótr; the Scottish Gaelic personal names Tormod and Torcall,
rendered in English as Norman and Torquil, are from the Old Norse Þórmóðr and Þórketill.
3 Black (1946), pp. 37, 455. The surname of the MacAulays of Ardincaple is the etymologically-unrelated to that of the
Macaulay family of Lewis. In Scottish Gaelic the surname of the Ardincaple family is rendered MacAmhalghaidh, and
is derived from a Gaelic personal name which pre-dates the arrival of the Norse by centuries.
4 Hammond (2007), pp. 85–86.
5 The pedigree of this family contains of mixture of native-Gaelic names (G), and Gaelic forms of Old Norse names (GN).
For example, the eponymous Dòmhnall (G), son of Raghnall (GN), son of Somhairle (GN), son of Gille-Brìghde (G),
son of Gille-Adhamhnain (G).
6 Heald (2007), pp. 23–24; see also Sykes (2004), pp. 203–225.
7 Woolf (2007), p. 206.
8 Ibid.
9 MacLysaght (1972), pp. 50-51. These three families are branches of the mediaeval Mag Uidhir, Mac Carthaigh, and
Ó Fearghail families.
10 Note that there is record on Lewis of a “Mac Oler” in 1572, who may be a Macaulay; see MacCoinnich (2007), p. 22.
11 Lawson (2008), p. 147.
12 Hanks; Hodges (2006), pp. 282–283.
borne by the family is rendered Sgàire. The current understanding is that it is possible that this name
originated as a byname, from the Old Norse skári — meaning “young sea mew” or “young sea gull”.13
This Old Norse word is known to have been borrowed into Scottish Gaelic, where it is rendered
sgàireag, and has a similar meaning.14

An early account of Lewis was recorded in the late 17th century, by John Morrison of Bragar.15 Morrison
stated that there were three ancient families on the island — the Morrisons, the Macaulays, and the
Macnicols. Of the Macaulays he wrote: “The second was Iskair Mac.Awlay ane Irish man whose
posteritie remain likvise to this day in the Lews”.16 The 20th century scholar William Matheson thought
that it is possible that Morrison's account of the family preserved the first two names of the family —
“Awlay” and “Iskair” (Aulay and Zachary). However, Matheson dismissed the Irish origin attributed to
the family with the following reasoning: “[Morrison's] idea that the clan was of Irish origin may
simply have been an inference on his part from the fact that, as we have seen, many families in Ireland
were known by surnames corresponding more or less to Macaulay”.17 In the late 19th century, antiquary
F. W. L. Thomas considered that Morrison's use of “Irish man” merely referred to a Gael, rather than a
native of Ireland.18

Zachary has another possible Old Norse etymology, one that Matheson did not consider — one that
actually supports the Irish ancestry of the family that was believed in 17th century. In the early 20th
century, when historian William C. Mackenzie referred to Morrison's account of Lewis and the name
“Iskair”, he noted that the similarly spelt Irskar is Icelandic for “Irish”.19 This can be taken a step
further. The Old Norse írskr also means “Irish”, and modern scholars, such as Clare Downham and
John Hines, have noted that within Old Norse sources, this term can refer to both native-Irish people,
Scandinavians who lived in Ireland, or Scandinavians who came from Ireland.20 Taking into account the
Irish ancestry of the family that was believed on Lewis in the 17th century, it is much more likely that
“Iskair” originated from írskr (“Irishman”), than from skári (“young sea mew”).

Y-DNA evidence may also support an Irish origin of the family. The website Ysearch allows
individuals to make their Y-DNA test results public, in order to find genetic connections with other
individuals and families. There are several people on Ysearch who are very likely lineal descendants of
the Macaulay family. One claims to descend from an 18th century Macaulay with the name
“Zachariah”,21 A search for genetic matches of this man, within a genetic distance of one, shows that he
is related to several other men with variations of the surname.22 However, what is striking is that these
men are somewhat related to a substantial number men with surnames that are traditionally associated
with Munster — surnames such as Driscoll, Hughey & Huey, Kelly & Kelley, Leary & O'Leary,
McAuliffe,23 O'Shea, and Sullivan. Another related match is a modal of 164 men from Munster. What is
13 Ibid, p. 409; see also Stewart (2004), p. 412.
14 Stewart (2004), p. 412.
15 Matheson (1978–80), pp. 320–337.
16 Scottish History Society (1907), pp. 214–215.
17 “The Origins of the Macaulays of Uig”, Comann Eachdraidh Uig (http://www.ceuig.com), Accessed 20 January 2011.
This web page contains text written by William Matheson (Mac Gille Chaluim) published in the Stornoway Gazette.
18 Thomas (1878), p. 504.
19 Mackenzie (1903), p. 60.
20 Downham (2007a), p. xvi; see also Downham, C. (2007b), p. 35. Downham cites Hines, John (2002), “Old Norse
Sources for Gaelic History”, Quiggin Pamphlets on the Sources of Mediaeval Gaelic History, 5, Cambridge University
Press.
21 “User ID: DN4PP”, Ysearch (http://www.ysearch.org), Accessed 20 January 2011.
22 “User ID: 3X7CT”, “User ID: GHWSR”, and “User ID: 7FX8R”, Ysearch (http://www.ysearch.org), Accessed 23
January 2011.
23 The McAuliffe match is also interesting because it is a surname of the Clann Amhlaoibh of Munster, mentioned earlier.
also immediately striking is that there are very few matches with classic Lewis-surnames, or even
Hebridean-surnames. For example, the user who claims descent from the “Zachariah” currently has 68
matches with others who have tested on at least ten markers with a genetic distance of zero. Of these
68, this user has multiple matches for Leary & O'Leary, Hughey & Huey, and Sullivan; he also matches
with an O'Brien, McAuliffe, and Shea; as well as several others who claim descent from Munstermen.
The only Hebridean-surname of the 68 was a McDonald, however this McDonald claims an Irish
ancestry. At first glance, this would appear to show that the Macaulay family is not closely-related to
other families who have long been seated in the Hebrides — such as Clann Dòmhnaill, Clann Leòid,
Clann Gille-Mhoire, Clann Gill-Eathain, and Clann Niall.24

In conclusion, John Morrison's 17th century account of Lewis gives the Macaulay family an Irish
origin, and may preserve the earliest names of the family — “Iskair” (Zachary & Sgàire) and “Awlay”
(Aulay & Amhlaidh). It is possible that “Iskair” is derived from an Old Norse byname meaning “sea
mew”, and that the meaning of this byname was long-forgotten by the time it was Anglicised as the
unrelated Biblical-name Zachary. However, if one takes into account the the traditional Irish origin of
the family, it is much more likely that “Iskair” is derived from an Old Norse byname meaning
“Irishman”. Although the meaning of this byname was eventually forgotten, the family's Irish origin
was still remembered in the late 17th century. A thorough and competent study of the Y-DNA of the
family prove that the Macaulays are more closely-related to Munstermen than other Hebrideans.
Further research may solidify an Irish origin of Clann Amhlaidh — the Macaulay family of Lewis.

24 Classic Hebridean-surnames are well represented on Ysearch. For example, as of 23 January 2011, the web site
contained about about +200 men with forms of Macdonald, about 40 with forms of Macleod, about +200 with forms of
Morrison, about 45 with forms of Maclean, and about 20 with forms of Macneill.
 Bibliography
Black, George Fraser (1946), The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History, New
York Public Library.
Downham, Clare (2007a), Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014,
Dunedin Academic Press, ISBN 978-1-903765-89-0.
Downham, Clare (2007b), “Living on the edge: Scandinavian Dublin in the Twelfth Century”, in
Smith, Beverley Ballin; Taylor, Simon; Williams, Gareth, West Over the Sea: Studies in
Scandinavian Sea-Borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300, The Northern World: North
Europe and the Baltic c. 400-1700 AD. Peoples, Economies and Cultures, 31, Brill, ISBN 978-
90-04-15893-1, ISSN 1569-1462.
Dunwell, A. J.; Cowie, T. G.; Bruce, M. F.; Neighbour, T.; Rees, A. R.; Finlayson, B.; Kerr, N;
Murray, N; Strachan, R. J. (1995), “A Viking Age cemetery at Cnip, Uig, Isle of Lewis”,
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 125, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Hammond, Mathew (2007), “Ethnicity, personal names, and the nature of Scottish Eurpeonization”,
in Weiler, Björn.; Burton, Janet; Schofield, Phillip; Stöber, Karen, Thirteenth Century England
XI: Proceedings of the Gregynog Conference, 2005, Boydell, ISBN 978-1-84383-285-0, ISSN
0269-6967.
Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (2006), Hardcastle, Kate ed., A Oxford Dictionary of Names (2nd
ed.), Oxford paperback reference, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1.
Heald, Andrew (2007), The Vikings in Scotland: Report of a Conference organised by The Royal
Society of Edinburgh, 20–22 September 2006, The Royal Society of Edinburgh, ISBN: 978-0-
902198-20-3.
Lawson, Bill (2008), Lewis in History and Legend: The West Coast, Birlinn, ISBN 978-1-84158-
368-6.
MacCoinnich, Aonghas (2007), “Sìol Torcail and their lordship in the sixteenth century”, in
Crossing the Minch: Exploring the Links Between Skye and the Outer Hebrides, The Islands
Book Trust.
Mackenzie, William Cook (1903), History of the Outer Hebrides, Alexander Gardner.
MacLysaght, Edward (1972), Irish Families: Their Names, Arms and Origins, New York: Crown
Publishers.
Matheson, William (1978–80), “The MacLeods of Lewis”, Transactions of the Gaelic Society of
Inverness, 51, Gaelic Society of Inverness.
Scottish History Society (1907), “Description of the Lewis by John Morisone Indweller there”,
Publications of the Scottish History Society, 52, Scottish History Society.
Stewart, Jr., Thomas W. (2004), “Lexical imposition Old Norse vocabulary in Scottish Gaelic”, in
Diachronica, 21:2, John Benjamins, ISSN 0176-4225.
Sykes, Bryan (2004), Adam's Curse: A future without men, Corgi, ISBN 0-552-14989-6.
Thomas, F. W. L. (1878), "Traditions of the Morrisons (Clan Mac Ghillemhuire), Hereditary Judges
of Lewis", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 12, Society of Antiquaries of
Scotland.
Woolf, Alex (2007), From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland, 2,
Edinburgh University Press, ISBN 0-7486-1234-5.