Examining the Origins of the ‘Sons of Thomas’, ‘Sons of Steven’

and the ‘Foxes or Todds’ of Argyll, and elsewhere. Compiled by Patrick L. Thompson

Clan MacTavish Seannachie

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This document illustrates that names changed over the course of history. One should never mistake that the Gaelic languages are in

any why related to the English (Germanic) Language, hence the structure, and inflections used in Gaelic are estranged to English

when constructing or pronouncing words or names. Attempting to equate written Gaelic name forms, or pronunciations and their

ever present variances to English name forms is a futile effort, unless the researcher is educated in the intricacies of the Gaelic

Language. Authentic sources were used to produce, and are included in, this document.

Probing Patrick Woulfe’s Irish Names and Surnames.

Scottish and Irish Gaelic surnames and their variances are derived from

the same language.

The above signified names are all old Gaelic forms of MacTavish. In this instance, there are literally five different or interchangeable forms of the

phonetic Mac Gille Tavis (four are given above). Examples of Modern surnames derived from the Old Form (O.F.) Gaelic as cognomen-tic formsare given by Fr. Patrick Woulfe on the following pages. MacTavish,Thomas, Thompson are just three modern forms.

MacAvish, the corrupted Scottish form is M‘Avish, found in a Cobbet’s Complete Collection of State Trials

and Proceedings of High Crimes and Misdemeanors, col, 796, cites Chief Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry in

connection to the Duke of Argyll’s part in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, re: Proceedings against Sir

D. Campbell and others. Noted in the language of the day is “Dugall M‘Avish off Dunardrie”.

MacCavish, MacClavish, MacComb(s), MacComish, are all the partially Anglicized

modern MacTavish (son of Thomas) forms, however some of these forms still exist as modern surnames.

MacTavish: the obvious modern form is shown with one of its old forms.

The various surname forms of the “Son(s) of Steven”: Stevens, Stevenson, Stephenson. Some of these forms are found in book, The Commons of Argyll, by Duncan C. MacTavish, and entries

elude to their part in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685. The Gaelic Stevens (et al) origins are from the

Old extent of Ulster, and non-Gaelic origins from mainland Europe, including Normandy.

The root of the names Thomas and Thompson (from the Gaelic) derive from one of the Old Forms of the Phonetic Mac Gille Tavis.

Irish Names and Surnames, 1922 edition

Some examples from the 1922 edition. This edition is less comprehensive than the 1906 edition.

Concerning Scots Gaelic or the Irish Gaeilge of Antrim, Down and Donegal (Ulster of old, not the modern

boundary) on forms and pronunciation. The dialect spoken in Ulster (that is old Ulster incorporating County

Donegal), Ireland is nearly identical to the Gaelic (old Erse Language - the language of the Highland Scots)

spoken in Kintyre and Knapdale, Scotland, which were the habitats of early MacTavishes who came to

ancient Scotland from Ireland during the Dalriadic period. You can read Rev. John Dewar’s examination of

the MacTavishes Dalriadic (i.e. Irish) origin in, The Celtic Magazine, Vol. VII., Inverness, 1882, p. 451:

(Bishop Carswell and His Times, VI).

The Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, Volume 32, page 228, has this to say about the name

Tamhais or Thamhais being the Thomas in English:

“Thomas gives Gillethoma, son of Malisius (Maol losa), in- 1219, 1220 (Ch. Inch.). Thomas became in

Gaelic Tamhas, gen. Tamhais, whence probably Jo. Makgilhewous in Menteith in 1465 (RMS), now

apparently Maclehose.”

The genitive form of the Pictish Gaelic Tavis (akin to the

Irish Gaelic Tamhas or Tamhus) is Taus. Taus or Tavis is

Tavis the Great or Tamhais Mor, the progenitor of the Clan

MacTavish in Scotland, who is noted in the Journal of James

Robertson, Sheriff Substitute of North Argyll in 1844.

Robertson calls him Tavish mor Mac MhicCalain. His 12th

century grave slab is located in the churchyard of Kilmartin

Kirk.

Hence MacTavish is “Son of Thomas”, which when “re-

Anglicized” is again MacTavish. Interestingly “Tavis” is the

original Pictish Gaelic form (pronunciation) of the name, so it

is identical to the Englished form of Tavish. “Tàmhas,” in the

Gaelic is pronounced [TAW-vas], but the genitive vocative

form (that is when speaking to the person) is “Thàmhais,”

pronounced [TAW-vis] or outside of Argyll [HAW-vis],

depending on region, and this has been re-Anglicized to

Tavish, for the Modern, fully-English, MacTavish. The

lenited form of the genitive Tamhais is “Thamhais”, without

accented ‘a’ (à) , which was found after the 13th

century.

Also the Gaelic language often ‘elides’ (omits or slurs over) pronouncements in both words and names. This

is seen in such forms as MacCause (spoken Ma-CAW-vas) and MacCawis (spoken Ma-CAW-vis) - both

MacTavish, where the consonant ‘T’ is dropped from Tavis or the genitive Taus and the Christian name is

combined and slurred over with the consonant “c” of Mac. A Latinized version found in Argyllshire is

MakCaus (spoken Mak-AWaS). Another rare form is MacCauish (spoken Mac-CAW-vish) a near phonetic

match to MacCawis (but the consant ‘h’ is pronounced). This also leads toward the modern MacTavish.

Another form found written in Argyll is McCabish, were the Gaelic consonant ‘b’ is actually the consonant

‘v’. Examples of McCabish (i.e. MacTavish) are found in the Hearth Tax Roll of 1694 for the region of

Knapdale, Kintyre, Argyllshire.

As seen in the Hearth Tax Roll example, McCabish is an elided form of MacTavish, and where the ‘b’ is

actually pronounced as a ‘v’. The following entry from The Gaelic Society of Inverness, Transactions of the

Gaelic Society of Inverness, Vol. II, 1872-1873, page 113, explains the ‘v’ sound: “We now turn to the

Consonants, and with the exception of (7 which is always pronounced hard, like the Greek K, and a few

others, they have in Gaelic mostly the same force as in English. J, K, Q, V, W, X, Y, Z, in English, are

wanting in Gaelic, but, B and M, by aspiration (bh and mh) in the beginning and middle of words, both

sound like V, hence the one sometimes occurs in lieu of the other, and some words are spelt indifferently

with either.” (Boldened text supplied for emphasis.)

Irish Name and Surnames (INS) gives both the Ulster and Antrim forms of the name, they being nearly

identical to the Gaelic of Kintyre or Knapdale. So that:

MacGiollašáµaiŠ yields the modern MacClavish, which is an interchangeable form of

MacGiollatGamahais, a modern MacTavish, but these two names, as well as others

Thomas surnames in INS are all of the same original root, just using different grammatical forms

of the same name*, to take on different forms. The pronunciation in each of four (4) known Old

Forms (O.F.) of Mac Gille Tavis is nearly identical. (Note: See Irish Names and Surnames, 1906 edition, page 22, providing four (4) of the old interchangeable forms

of this surname.)

The Aspirate provides how the dialectic variances of Gaelic produce the deviations of the name of Thomas

or Tamhais (Tavish).

Note: In Kintyre and/or Knapdale, (Argyllshire district) the Gaelic dialect is nearly identical to that of Counties Down, Donegal and Antrim, in Ireland, MacThomais. “the son of Thomas” is in point of fact MacThómais. Here the Gaelic vowel “o” (ó) is pronounced as the English vowel “a” as in the English words “what” or “at.” The Gaelic consonant “m” is often pronounced as a “v”. Hence MacThomais (Gaelic MacThómais) ispronounced Mac-TAW-vas, alternately in Inverness-shire it tends toward Mac–HAW-vash. M’Cosh is ill-written, the accent (signifying “Mac”) is reversed and should be written Ḿ or M‘.

MacCosh. In Inverness-shire it is often MacCoss.

Irish Pedigrees: The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation

The Gaelic origins of the “Sons of Thomas”, MacTavish, Thomas, Thompson,

etc., and the “Sons of Steven”, MacStibin, Stevens, Stevenson, Stephenson, etc., are quite obvious.

The Tods or Todds of Argyllshire.

The surname of Tod, of which Todd is a variant, comes from the Scottish word for fox, with the

connotation of being “clever”. This description of surname is mostly for the English surname Todd from

the Scottish Todde, a fox. A Scottish toddebunter or todbunter was a fox hunter, and this is considered

the source of the surname in the Highlands, as opposed to the English explanation. This designation for

a family of fox hunters came about very early, where a son followed the father’s profession of ridding

an estate or forest of the fox population. Foxes devastated small game populations, and gorged on

such animals as hares, chickens and pheasants. The designation for these hunters was eventually

shortened to Tod or Todd and became a surname.

Todds were mostly found in the Lowlands of Scotland, and the North or England, but the name Todde

or Tahd was found in the Highlands, including Argyll, where it gradually changed to Todd as well. Both

Tods and Todds were to be found in Argyll. Todbunter and Todhunter are both modernly found as

surnames.

The above from A Vertebrate Fauna of Argyll and the Inner Hebrides, John Alexander, 1892 -

Page 13, examines the effect of foxes to the region. As early as the 12th century Todbunters were

found in Argyllshire, where they were awarded bounties for ridding the region of foxes and other prey

animals. There were Tods/Todds in Glassary and Knapdale connected to Clan MacTavish from the 12th

century, and some moved south into Kintyre, others eventually moved on to Ireland and North America.

The book, Kintyre Country Life, by Angus Martin, 1987, page 73, mentions the Todds in Argyll came

originally from Dumfriesshire, but had become Gaelic speakers, and thus fit well into the indigenous

populace. However it is not confirmed that all the Tod/Todd families in Argyll originate from

Dumfriesshire, nor were these families considered a distinct clan. Tod and Todd are given as both

Lowland and Argyll family regional names in the book, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain, By

Henry Brougham Guppy, pp. 577, 578.

In the Commissariat Records for Argyle (Argyll) is found recorded Testament entries as follow:

“Helen, spouse to Donald Todd, in Campbeltoun, par. of Kilkeran 1 May 1676”, and “Todd, Donald, in

Campbeltoun. See Galbraith, Helen”. indicating that these Todds lived in Campbeltown, Kintyre,

Argyllshire. Another entry says, “Tod, George, tenant in Bannitie T. 9 Apr. 1706.”

At Kilchattan, Southend, is a place called Todd Hill.

Also, from a list of tenants in Campbeltown, Kintyre, Argyll is this listing: “1685-Donald Omey

inhabitant of Campbeltown, Nocholas Todd his man."

Not all Tod/Todd families would necessarily be genetically related if their origin was from the trade of

todbunters, as this was a profession that was in high demand in certain regions. The men who followed

this profession were skilled in trapping, and in the warrior’s art of archery; so were also employed in

times of war or clan strife. The earliest families found in the Argyllshire Highlands date to the late 12th

and 13th centuries onwards.

Tod or Todd is a name divided between Clans Gordon and MacTavish. The Tod(d) surname is accepted

in Clan MacTavish since the 12th century. If your family came from the west of Scotland (Glassary,

Knapdale and Kintyre), it is likely of Clan MacTavish. Otherwise, it is likely to be of Clan Gordon.