McMaster
A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of the master,” originally referring to someone attached to or descended from a person called Master.
The #5,184 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 45,781 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McMaster is a patronymic surname built on Gaelic Mac, meaning “son of,” plus Master. In the older sources, “Master” is taken as a status term or personal name rather than a craft name in the modern sense, so the literal meaning is “son of the master.” The name was likely formed in Gaelic-speaking areas, but it ultimately reflects a borrowed English title-word.
History
The surname is found in both Scottish and Irish naming traditions, and it appears in older genealogical and onomastic works in the form Mac Master or McMaster. Historical writers treated it as a fairly straightforward patronymic, though the exact social origin of the “Master” element is not always clear. Modern bearers are especially associated with Scotland and the Scottish diaspora, with the name also established in Ireland and North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers sometimes glossed it simply as “son of the Master,” showing how transparent the name was to them.
From the historical record
“McMARTIK The son of Martin, or the warlike. McMASTER. The son of Master. McMULLIK .The son of the miller. McMURROUGH. The son of Murrough or Murrach; MOT, great^ strong, and ach, battle. Mur, a wall, bulwark, and ach. McMURTAIR. (G-aelic.) The son of a murderer. McNAB. The son of Nab. Nab, the summit of a mountain…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names