The a in my surname definitely dates from the generation immediately preceding mine, i.e. my father and aunts, and many of them were named Mc rather than Mac on their BCs. Just to complicate matters my father retained the capital K, normally associated with the Mc version of the surname, while my aunt went for the lower case k to be consistent with the Mac! I think that for non official matters my grandfather may have used the Mac but I'm not sure.
I'm not clear why they made the change though I think my Dad thought it looked more Highland than the Mc, a bit rich since as far back as I can find the family came from Ayrshire.........where before that I don't know.
I regularly have to spell all aspects of my name though none is uncommon. However it's nothing to the confusion that my previous married name of Oswald caused to Scots, though it is a Scottish name.
Anne
PS I do know my NI number off pat. However I have been known to 'forget' my date of birth
) is that it's far from uncommon on Bs and Ds to find a different spelling in the columns where the registrar has entered the surname info compared to the signature; and in M register entries not unknown to find a different spelling in the bride/groom column compared to the parents column. The specific request of the informant?, or a mistake on the registrar's part?, or just a neat illustration of society's opinion on the importance of the exact spelling of surnames.
