Menzies

Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges.

For other uses, see Menzies (disambiguation).

Derivation and history

The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived from the Norman name Mesnières, from the town of Mesnières-en-Bray in Normandy.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

The name is traditionally pronounced — and still is in Scotland — /ˈmɪŋɪs/ ⓘ MING-iss. The current spelling arose when the similar-looking tailed variant of the letter ⟨z⟩ (i.e., ⟨𝔷⟩) was used as a substitute for the now obsolete letter ⟨ȝ⟩ (yogh) in the Scots language (Menȝies).[4] However, outside Scotland it is often erroneously given the spelling-pronunciation /ˈmɛnziːz/ MEN-zeez. A Scottish limerick plays on the traditional, correct pronunciation:

There wis a young lassie named Menzies,
That askit her aunt whit this thenzies.
Said her aunt wi a gasp,
"Ma dear, it's a wasp,
An you're haudin the end whaur the stenzies!"[lower-alpha 1]

The second and fifth lines are pronounced as though the <z> were a <ȝ>, making "thing is" and "sting is", to rhyme with "Menzies". "Wasp" rhymes with "gasp" in Scots.

As a surname

As a given name

See also

Footnotes
  1. Translation: There was a young girl named Menzies ["Mingiss"], / That asked her aunt what this thing is. / Said her aunt with a gasp, / "My dear, it's a wasp, / And you're holding the end where the sting is!"

References
  1. David Hey, Clan Menzies website
  2. BBC Alba - Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh (554)
  3. Family names and family history, pp 37-38
  4. Bernd Kappenberg (2014). Setting Signs for Europe. Columbia University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-3-8382-6703-6.
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