Menzies
Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges.[citation needed]
Derivation and history
The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived from the Norman name Mesnières, from the town of Mesnières-en-Bray in Normandy.[1][2][3]
Pronunciation
The name is traditionally pronounced — and still is in Scotland — /ˈmɪŋɪs/ MING-iss. The current spelling arose when the similar-looking tailed variant of the letter ⟨z⟩ (i.e., ⟨𝔷⟩) was used as a substitute for the now obsolete letter ⟨ȝ⟩ (yogh) in the Scots language (Menȝies).[4] However, outside Scotland it is often erroneously given the spelling-pronunciation /ˈmɛnziːz/ MEN-zeez. A Scottish limerick plays on the traditional, correct pronunciation:
There wis a young lassie named Menzies,
That askit her aunt whit this thenzies.
Said her aunt wi a gasp,
"Ma dear, it's a wasp,
An you're haudin the end whaur the stenzies!"[a]
The second and fifth lines are pronounced as though the <z> were a <ȝ>, making "thing is" and "sting is", to rhyme with "Menzies". "Wasp" rhymes with "gasp" in Scots.
As a surname
- Alan W. C. Menzies, Scots-born chemist and professor of chemistry at Princeton University
- Alex Menzies, Scottish football player
- Alex Menzies (footballer, born 1882), Scottish international football player
- Archibald Menzies (1754–1842), British medic and biologist; ship's doctor and naturalist on board George Vancouver's voyage to the North Pacific
- Beryl Menzies (married name Beryl Fowler, 1881–1963), English painter
- Charles Menzies, anthropologist
- Charles Menzies (1783–1866), Royal Marines officer
- Danni Menzies, British presenter of A Place in the Sun
- David Menzies, Canadian journalist
- Diane Menzies, New Zealand landscape architect
- Douglas Menzies, former Justice of the High Court of Australia
- Sir Frederick Menzies, British physician
- Gavin Menzies, retired British submarine captain and author
- George Menzies, New Zealand rugby league footballer
- Gina Menzies, Irish media personality
- Heather Menzies (1949–2017), Canadian actress
- Henry Menzies (1867–1938), Scottish rugby player
- Hugh Menzies (1857–1925), Australian politician
- Ivan Menzies (1896–1985), singer and actor
- James Menzies, New Zealand politician
- James Menzies (Wisconsin politician) (1830–1913), American politician
- John Menzies (businessman)
- John A. Menzies, Manitoba judge
- John K. Menzies, former US-Bosnian ambassador and academic
- Karen Menzies (born 1962), Australian footballer
- Karl Menzies, Australian cyclist
- Mark Menzies, Scottish Conservative MP
- Neal Menzies, Australian Professor of Soil Science
- Peter Menzies Jr., Australian cinematographer
- Sir Robert Menzies (1894-1978), Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister, who pronounced his own name in the Scottish fashion
- Sadie Menzies (1914–1996), founder member of the Revolutionary Workers Group
- Sharon Menzies, New Zealand financier
- Steve Menzies, Australian rugby league player
- Stewart Menzies, Head of British Secret Intelligence Service 1939–1952
- Ted Menzies, Canadian politician (MP)
- Tobias Menzies, British actor
- William Cameron Menzies (1896–1957), American film director
As a given name
- Iain Menzies Banks, Scottish writer, pen name used for his science fiction works
- Walter Menzies Campbell, former leader of the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom
See also
- Clan Menzies, Scottish clan
- Mingus (disambiguation), pronounced similarly
Footnotes
- ^ Translation: There was a young girl named Menzies ["Mingiss"], / That asked her aunt what this thing is. / Said her aunt with a gasp, / "My dear, it's a wasp, / And you're holding the end where the sting is!"
References
- ^ David Hey, Clan Menzies website
- ^ BBC Alba - Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh (554)
- ^ Family names and family history, pp 37-38
- ^ Bernd Kappenberg (2014). Setting Signs for Europe. Columbia University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-3-8382-6703-6.
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