''Mac Coitir'' and ''Mac Oitir'' are masculine

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

s in the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. The names translate into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as "son of ''Oitir''". These surnames originated as a

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

s, however they no longer refers to the actual name of the bearer's father. There are specific forms of these surnames that are borne by married and unmarried females. There are numerous

Anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

forms of these surnames.

Etymology

''Mac Coitir'' is a variant form of ''Mac Oitir'', where the ''c''-sound has carried over from the ''Mac-'' prefix. According to Patrick Woulfe, who wrote in the early 20th century, the form ''Mac Coitir'' is the more popular form of the two surnames. The surnames translate into

as "son of ''Oitir''". These surnames originated as

s, however they no longer refer to the actual name of the bearer's father. The name ''Oitir'' is a

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

derivative of the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

personal name A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...

'' Óttar(r)''.

Feminine forms

The form of these Irish surnames for unmarried females is ''Nic Coitir'' and ''Nic Oitir''; these names mean "daughter of the son of ''Oitir''". The form of these Irish surnames for married females is ''Bean Mhic Coitir'' and ''Bean Mhic Oitir'', or simply ''Mhic Coitir'' and ''Mhic Oitir''; these names mean "wife of the son of ''Oitir''".

Anglicised forms

These Irish surnames can be

variously as '' MacCotter'', '' MacCottier'', '' MacCottar'', '' Cotter'', '' Cottier'', ''Cottiers'', and '' Otterson''. which is a transcription of:

Families

The names are borne by families in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

. The names are also borne by an old and notable family that was historically seated at Carrigtwohil, near the city of

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

; this family claims to be of Norse origin. which is a transcription of:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mac Coitir Irish-language masculine surnames Patronymic surnames Surnames Irish families Surnames of Irish origin Irish-language surnames Families of Irish ancestry