The MacKenzie Surname
- Meaning
- son of Coinneach
- Type
- Patronymic
- Root
- Gaelic Mac Coinnich
- Chiefly
- Ross-shire and the north-west
Coinneach means ‘fair one’ or ‘handsome’; the English name Kenneth stands in for it. The older Gaelic spelling ended in a letter that Scots scribes wrote as z — which is why the name was long pronounced ‘MacKingie’ and why some Scots names still carry a silent z.
That stray z is one of the better fossils in British naming: a dead letter preserved by a printing convenience.
Bestow the name a title it never had
An honorific Lord or Lady certificate in the MacKenzie name, hand-finished and sealed, with a square metre of Scottish woodland dedicated alongside it. A novelty, magnificently done — and a good deal more fun than a family tree.
Choose a Package The Peerage Chart