The Letter c in Names Beginning with "Mc"
There are many variations of how the c in last names starting with “Mc” (like my own, McArthur) have been used in handwriting and in type. I have seen a raised c such that the top of the c lines up with the capital letters on either side of it, a raised c with a horizontal line under it, a raised c with two dots under it, a raised c with two horizontal lines under it (the way I was taught when I was little), and a raised c with a horizontal line under it and two dots under the line. The lines and dots seem to be most common in handwriting, but I have seen the c raised frequently in type, and have also seen it in type with underlines sometimes. Nowadays it is obviously common to use a normal lowercase c, with or without an apostrophe between the M and the c.
Does anybody know of any Unicode characters that would match any of the raised variants? Does anybody have some insight into which variant(s) may be most correct?
8.Apr.2008 2.45am
The Mc prefix comes from ’Mac’ in Gaelic from Ireland (and later Scotland), Mac literally meaning ’son’. It is normally taken to mean ’son of’ – Mac Arthur, for example, meaning Son of Arthur.
Being Irish, I have never seen Mc with an apostrophe between the two letters. I would say that the most correct way of writing it, taking its history into account, is simply ’Mc’, without any dots, lines or otherwise.
Ross
8.Apr.2008 11.30am
You might try abusing U+1D9C (Modifier Letter Small C) as in MᶜGuffin. If you’re willing to restrict your choice of font somewhat, the MUFI semi-standard probably encodes characters like that somewhere in the Unicode PUA.
—Joel
8.Apr.2008 11.33am
I also learned to print my name with a raised c. Can’t remember if there was a line under it or not, but I think not. It was done that way on the family business signage, and occasionally I have seen it with a little triangle instead. Never double underlines though.
Since adopting the typewriter in 1970 as a cure for horrid handwriting and printing, and later the computer, I have given up on the raised c and let it slide back to the baseline. It does not bother me down there.
18.Apr.2008 12.32am
Thanks for the responses guys. I guess I will abandon my efforts for now and settle for a baseline c, but I will keep my eyes open.
19.Apr.2008 6.45am
Just because it isn’t in Unicode doesn’t mean it can’t be in a font. Small caps aren’t encoded in Unicode, either. If using an appropriate application that supports such things, you could use an OpenType font that has superiors or ordinals (and adjust their vertical position if needed).
Cheers,
T
21.Apr.2008 5.56am
As a clan member I have noticed that everyone in my family always writes Mc with a raised c. I don’t think it matters and believe its just a matter of personal preference.