Surname McGechie - Meaning and Origin
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McGechie: What does the surname McGechie mean?
The surname McGechie is of Scottish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic name "Mac Eochaidh," which translates to "son of Eochaidh." The name Eochaidh itself is derived from "each," meaning horse, and "aidh," meaning fire. Thus, the literal meaning could be interpreted as "son of the horse of fire." However, meanings of ancient Gaelic names should be taken with a pinch of salt, as they were often symbolic rather than literal. Like many surnames, it could have originally represented a nickname, or a prominent feature of a family's location, occupation, or ancestor. It's also important to note that the spelling of such names has often changed over centuries due to a variety of factors, including regional dialects and illiteracy. Other variations of the name include McGeachie, McGeachy, and Mackechney.
Order DNA origin analysisMcGechie: Where does the name McGechie come from?
The surname McGechie is of Scottish origin, specifically from the Gaelic culture. The name is derived from the Gaelic name "Mac Eochaidh" (son of Eochaidh) which was later anglicized to McGechie. Eochaidh is Gaelic for "horse rider," so the name can also mean "son of the horse rider."
The McGechie name, similar to many other Scottish surnames, spread across the world during the time of the Scottish diaspora, which saw many Scots emigrate to different parts of the world for various reasons including economic, political, and societal.
The surname has various spellings due to phonetic translations and regional adaptations, including McGeachie, McGeachy and M'Geachie.
Today, the name is not overly common anywhere but can be found scattered in locations with significant communities of Scottish descendants. These places include the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Yet, despite the wide reach of Scottish surnames, the name McGechie is fairly uncommon.
Similar to many other historically significant surnames, the history, and distribution of the McGechie surname is a testament to the movements and migrations of people and their cultures.
Variations of the surname McGechie
The surname McGechie is of Scottish origin and is derived from the Gaelic "Mac Eochaidh" or "Mac Eachaidh," which can be translated as "son of Eochaidh" or "son of Eachaidh". The surname suggests a lineage or descendance from a person bearing these personal names, which mean "horse rider" in Gaelic.
The name has several spellings due to factors such as regional dialects, Anglicization, or phonetic translations. The variances include McGeachie, McGeachy, McGeachin, McGeachan, and McKeachie.
Interestingly, these variations can also be found in different geographical regions of Scotland. For instance, McGeachy is more common in Kintyre, McGeachie in Perthshire, and McKeachie in Ayrshire.
Other less common variants may include M'Gechie, M'Keachie, M'Geachie, and McEochaidh.
There are also related surnames derived from the same ancestral "Eochaidh/Eachaidh" root, albeit they may not visually appear similar, such as MacEachen or MacGeachan.
Famous people with the name McGechie
- Nicole McGechie: Canadian former world-champion figure skater and skating coach.
- Sandy McGechie: Scottish former football player who played for several teams in the Scottish Football League in the 1970s.
- Scott McGechie: Australian former soccer player who represented Australia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
- Zara McGechie: British reality TV star and former Big Brother contestant.
- Jenny McGechie: Scottish professional golfer who represented Great Britain & Ireland in the 2008 Curtis Cup.
- Alex McGechie: Australian former professional cricketer who played 11 first-class matches for Western Australia in the early 2000s.
- Evan McGechie: Canadian actor and musician who has had leading roles in several independent feature films.
- Neil McGechie: Canadian figure skater who won bronze at the 2013 Canadian National Figure Skating Championships.
- Rachel McGechie: Scottish scriptwriter and novelist who won the Robert Louis Stevenson Award for her work L'Etoile Dans L'mer in 2009.
- Chris McGechie: Australian actor and comedian who has performed stand-up comedy routines as well as having featured on television series including Neighbours, Winners & Losers and Utopia.