Varying Scottish Surnames

[Galloway]

I am studying the McElwee name, but have found related records with the surname listed as McIlwee. Is this usual for a surname to vary - in particular this one.

[Polwarth]

Hello
Yes, it is quite common to see names written differently - even within the same family!

Spelling was not standardised until relatively recent years - and a lot of people were illiterate - therefore the name was written as the 'hearer' thought he heard it!

[alanmckechnie]

It certainly is not uncommon for Sirnames to have different spellings. My own, for example, has in excess of fifty different spellings or derivatives. Much was due to the illiteracy of the people and many times a person had a different spelling from birth to marriage to registration of children to death, as it was often down to the registrar to figure out how to spell the name, these often being of rather different heritage than the person to whom the registry applied. Other reasons include, but is not limited too, passage on a ship to another country, registry in anather country, and such like. Within my own direct family I have the spelling of the name with Mc and Mac, which indicates that the problem was not just in days of yore.
Hope this goes some way to your understanding of the differing spellings of a name.

[Mamie]

Yes indeed when searching out the records say the name out loud to yourself then imagine the different ways it could be spelt.

Even that is not always enough. Warse and Wares and Harrow and Harrold are equivalent in some cases for instance.

Many indexes allow you to use Soundex or Metaphone searches in an effort to allow the various spellings to show up in a search.

[Galloway]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I am fairly new to family history and this is the only site I have had a positive reply from.

[Marhar]

According to the 1881 census there were only 33 McIlwee in all of Scotland, mostly in Ayrshire, some were born in Ireland.