Dia Dhuit, mo charaí!

After a bit of consideration I have decided to reply to these posts. (Possibly because the names are easy ones? )

For those gentle readers who have not read the earlier posts, I will clarify my intent. This thread is to provide the original Gaelic (Irish or Scottish) spelling of a particular Irish or Scottish name; hence the term "de-Anglicisation." For amusement sake, I also provide a translation or transliteration service for those names which are not based in Gaelic language/culture.

NOTE: This is NOT a Genealogy thread! Though some of the information may or may not prove useful to someone researching their family history, it should not be taken as an indication of someone's descent. People change names for many reasons and all may not be what it seems!

So, without further ado:

Butler: The Butlers, as any novice student of Irish history can tell you, were an important Norman-Irish family. Their name was Gaelicised as "de Buitléir (pronounced DE BWIT-LAIR). The term "butler" in those day meant something more akin to "steward."

MacGregor: "son of Gregory" Scottish: Mac Grioghair (pronounced MAC GRIG-ER or MAC GREER) or Irish: Mac Gréagóir (pronounced MAC GRAYG-ORE)

Harris: Anglicisation of Welsh "Ap Harri" meaning "son of Henry" Ap (earlier Map) corresponds to Gaelic "mac."