There is no difference in the family crests for McDonald and MacDonald, they are both the same name. The prefix ‘Mac’ means ‘son of’. This is a Clan name of course, and is the Anglised version of the Gaelic name Mac Dhomhnuill – I doubt the burgers guys would have had quite the same success if they had used that name 
The name was found first in Kintyre. Other spellings of the name that have been found by our researchers include: Donaldson and McDonny.
Perhaps the most famous event in the history of the MacDonald Clan was the Glencoe massacre which arose out of the rivalry between the MacDonald Clan and the Campbells. The MacDonalds were loyal to the deposed King James VII of Scotland, while the Campbells favoured the Union of the English and Scottish crowns. Many years of dispute culminated in the Glencoe massacre in 1692 when 37 MacDonalds were slaughtered in their sleep by Campbells as vengance for the MacDonalds’ delayed submission to the Scottish crown.
You can read more about the origins of the MacDonald name in one of our Surname History prints. Go to our shop.
