Menzies is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

surname, with

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges.

Derivation and history

The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived from the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

name Mesnières, from the town of Mesnières-en-Bray in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

David Hey David G. Hey (18 July 1938 – 14 February 2016) was an English historian, and was an authority on surnames and the local history of Yorkshire. Hey was the president of the British Association for Local History, and was a published author of sev ...

Clan Menzies website
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Pronunciation

tailed ''z'', upright=0.25 Yogh

The traditional Scottish pronunciation of the name is , reflecting the spelling of the name as , using the letter (

yogh The letter yogh (ȝogh) ( ; Scots: ; Middle English: ) is a Latin script letter that was used in Middle English and Older Scots, representing ''y'' () and various velar phonemes. It was derived from the Insular form of the letter ''g'', Ᵹ ...

). The current spelling arose when yogh fell out of use in the Scots language and was replaced with the similar-looking tailed variant (

\mathfrak

) of the letter . However, outside Scotland the name is often given the pronunciation , reflecting the current spelling. A Scottish

limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

plays on the traditional 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!"

The second and fifth lines are pronounced as though the were a <>, making "thing is" and "sting is", to rhyme with "Menzies". "Wasp" rhymes with "gasp" in Scots.

People with the surname

Alan W. C. Menzies Prof Alan Wilfrid Cranbrook Menzies FRSE (pronounced ''MING-iss''; 31 July 1877 – 8 September 1966) was a Scottish-born chemist who later taught at Princeton University. Life Menzies was born in Edinburgh on 31 July 1877, son of Thomas Hunter M ...

(1877–1966), Scots-born chemist and professor of chemistry at Princeton University * Alex Menzies, Scottish football player *

Alex Menzies (footballer, born 1882) Alexander William Menzies (25 November 1882 – 1964) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward for Heart of Midlothian and Manchester United in the 1900s. Born in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Menzies began his football career with l ...

(1882–1964), Scottish international football player *

Archibald Menzies Archibald Menzies ( ; 15 March 1754 – 15 February 1842) was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist. He spent many years at sea, serving with the Royal Navy, private merchants, and the Vancouver Expedition. During his naval expeditions, h ...

(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 *

Cameron Menzies Cameron Menzies (born 27 June 1989) is a Scottish darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. A PDC Tour Card holder since 2022, Menzies has won two PDC ranking titles in Players Championship events. He reached hi ...

(born 1989), Scottish darts player *

Charles Menzies (anthropologist) Charles R. Menzies is a Canadian anthropologist and full professor. He is a member of the Gitxaala Nation of northwestern British Columbia and an enrolled member of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Early life and education Menzi ...

Charles Menzies (Royal Marines officer) General Sir Charles Menzies, (12 May 1783 – 22 August 1866) was a senior Royal Marines officer. Although he became a respected soldier, fighting with Horatio Nelson in the Napoleonic Wars and later rising to the rank of general before becoming ...

(1783–1866), Royal Marines officer * Danni Menzies, British presenter of ''A Place in the Sun'' *

David Menzies David Menzies (23 June 1873 – 11 October 1936) was a Scottish football player and manager. Career Menzies was a player at Raith Rovers where his father was chairman. In 1903 he joined newly formed English side Bradford City as a reserve playe ...

(died 1936), Scottish football player and manager *

Diane Menzies Diane Helen Menzies (née Bright) is a New Zealand landscape architect. She is a former Environment Court commissioner, and served as president of the International Federation of Landscape Architects from 2006 to 2010. In 2008, she was investe ...

, New Zealand landscape architect *

Douglas Menzies Sir Douglas Ian Menzies KBE (7 September 190729 November 1974) was an Australian judge, serving as a Justice of the High Court of Australia. He was also Chancellor of Monash University from 1968 until his death in 1974. Early life Menzies was ...

(1907–1974), former Justice of the High Court of Australia *

Frederick Menzies Sir Frederick Norton Kay Menzies (2 November 1875 – 14 May 1949) was a British physician and public health expert. He was Honorary Physician to King George VI. Early life He was born in Caernarvon on 2 November 1875, the son of Edith Madelin ...

(1875–1949), British physician *

Gavin Menzies Rowan Gavin Paton Menzies (14 August 1937 – 12 April 2020) was a British submarine lieutenant-commander who authored books claiming that the Chinese sailed to America before Columbus. Historians have rejected Menzies' theories and assertio ...

(1937–2020), British retired submarine captain and author *

George Menzies George Menzies (30 September 1930 – 16 March 2016) was a New Zealand rugby league player and coach who represented New Zealand at three World Cups and coached New Zealand at another World Cup. In 2007 he was named the greatest New Zealand ha ...

(1930–2016), New Zealand rugby league footballer *

Gina Menzies Gina Menzies is a frequent guest on Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the Irish national radio and television broadcaster and is described as a theologian. Her academic qualifications include an H. Dip in Education from Trinity College Dublin, a Bach ...

, Irish media personality *

Heather Menzies Heather Margaret Brotherston Menzies Urich (December 3, 1949 – December 24, 2017) was a Canadian actress known for her roles as Louisa von Trapp in the 1965 film ''The Sound of Music'' and Jessica 6 in the TV series ''Logan's Run''. Earl ...

(1949–2017), Canadian actress *

Henry Menzies (rugby union) Henry Fisher Menzies (15 June 1867 in London, Ontario, Canada – 31 July 1938 in Edinburgh) was a Scotland international rugby union player. Born in Canada to a Greenock father, he moved to Scotland with his mother as a child and was brough ...

(1867–1938), Scottish rugby player *

Hugh Menzies Hugh Menzies (4 September 1857 – 13 February 1925) was an Australian politician representing the electoral district of Stawell in the Victorian Legislative Assembly between 1902 and 1904 as a Ministerialist member. He served as Mayor of the ...

(1857–1925), Australian politician *

Ivan Menzies J. Ivan "Jimmy" Menzies (1896 – 19 April 1985) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in the comic baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Britain in the 1920s and the J. C. Wi ...

(1896–1985), singer and actor * James Menzies (disambiguation) *

John Menzies (disambiguation) John Menzies plc is a former name of Menzies Aviation, a Scottish distribution and aviation business, and former retailer. John Menzies is also the name of: * John A. Menzies (), judge of the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba, Canada * John Hen ...

Karen Menzies Karen Menzies (born 1962) is known for being the first Indigenous Australian association footballer in the Australia women's national soccer team. She played seven games for the Matildas in the period 1983–1989. Early life Menzies grew up in t ...

(born 1962), Australian footballer * Karl Menzies (born 1977), Australian cyclist *

Mark Menzies Mark Andrew Menzies (born 18 May 1971) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Fylde in Lancashire from 2010 to 2024. As a member of the Conservative Party, he was the parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Cha ...

(born 1971), British politician * Neal Menzies (born 1959), Australian professor of soil science * Peter Menzies Jr., Australian cinematographer *

Ralph Leroy Menzies Ralph Leroy Menzies (born April 21, 1958) is an American convicted murderer currently on death row in Utah for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker (February 28, 1959 – February 25, 1986), a gas station attendant whom he kidnapped before slitting ...

(born 1958), American murderer *

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

(1894–1978), Australia's longest-serving prime minister *

Sadie Menzies Sadie Menzies (19141996) was a founder member of the Revolutionary Workers Group and the Communist Party of Ireland. Biography Sadie Menzies was born in Newtownards in 1914. Her mother worked in a mill while her father worked for famous loca ...

(1914–1996), founder member of the Revolutionary Workers Group *

Sharon Menzies Sharon Menzies is a New Zealand financier specialising in film financing. In 2020 she received the Imagezone Entrepreneurship Award at the Women in Film and Television New Zealand Awards. Biography Menzies' career in finance started in the bank ...

, 21st century New Zealand financier *

Steve Menzies Steve Menzies (born 4 December 1973), commonly referred to by his nickname "Beaver", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer best known for his career with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. He also played for the Bradford Bull ...

(born 1973), Australian rugby league player *

Stewart Menzies Major General Sir Stewart Graham Menzies, (; 30 January 1890 – 29 May 1968) was Chief of MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), from 1939 to 1952, during and after the Second World War. Early life, family Stewart Graham Menzies ...

(1890–1968), Head of British Secret Intelligence Service 1939–1952 *

Ted Menzies Ted Menzies (born February 18, 1952) is a former Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Macleod in the House of Commons of Canada and served as Minister of State for Finance before being replaced by Kevin Sorenson. He ...

(born 1952), Canadian politician *

Tobias Menzies Tobias Simpson Menzies (born 7 March 1974) is an English actor. He is known for playing Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in the third and fourth seasons of the series ''The Crown'', for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding S ...

(born 1974), British actor *

William Cameron Menzies William Cameron Menzies (July 29, 1896 – March 5, 1957) was an American filmmaker who pioneered the discipline of production design, a job title he invented. His career spanned five decades, during which time he also worked as an art director, ...

(1896–1957), American film director

Footnotes

References

{{surname, Menzies Surnames of Scottish origin

Derivation and history

Pronunciation

People with the surname

See also

Footnotes

References