ISLAND'S MANY MACS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19135, 2 October 1936, Page 10

ISLAND'S MANY MACS

QUARTER OF TOTAL AVOIDING CONFUSION CIIAIILOTTETOWN (P.E.1.), Sept. 1. The directory of Prince Edward Island, smallest of Canada's nine provinces, contains £5.000 names, and 6000 of I hem start with "Me" or "Mac." The McDonalds lead all. but there are great numbers of MeKinuons. MeLeods. McNeils, and in addition numerous Campbells, Camerons, Erasers. Stewarts and so on. Prince Edward Island families with "Me" names have their own ways of preventing confusion which might arise when several families in one community bearing the same surname choose identical Christian names for their offspring. Down west there was a Big Malcolm McDonald whose son was called Johnny Big .Malcolm, and. his son. Alex McDonald. There were so many other "AlexMcDonalds" about that 'the grandson was called "Long Alex," which made him "Long Alex Johnny Big .Malcolm."

Donald Alexander McKinnons — or other similarly popular combinations —in some quarters are differentiated by the old Highland use of "Black" before the first name, giving "Black Donald." In other parts of the province affixing the name of an object- like "axe" or "pump" before the- surname, giving "Johnny Axe Campbell" or "Malcolm Pump McDonald" solves the problem ol probable confusion quite satisfactorily.