Menzies

For other uses, see Menzies (disambiguation).

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 traditional Scottish pronunciation of the name is /ˈmɪŋɪs/ ^ⓘ MING-iss, reflecting the spelling of the name as Menȝies, using the letter ⟨ȝ⟩ (yogh). The current spelling arose when yogh fell out of use in the Scots language and was replaced with the similar-looking tailed variant (⟨𝔷⟩) of the letter ⟨z⟩.^[4]

However, outside Scotland the name is often given the pronunciation /ˈmɛnziːz/ MEN-zeez, reflecting the current spelling.

A Scottish limerick 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!"^[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 (1877–1966), Scots-born chemist and professor of chemistry at Princeton University
• Alex Menzies, multiple people:
  • Alex Menzies, Scottish football player
  • Alex Menzies (footballer, born 1882) (1882–1964), 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, multiple people:
  • Charles Menzies, anthropologist
  • Charles Menzies (1783–1866), Royal Marines officer
• Danni Menzies, British presenter of A Place in the Sun
• David Menzies (died 1936), Scottish football player and manager
• Diane Menzies, New Zealand landscape architect
• Douglas Menzies (1907–1974), former Justice of the High Court of Australia
• Sir Frederick Menzies (1875–1949), British physician
• Gavin Menzies (1937–2020), retired British submarine captain and author
• George Menzies (1930–2016), 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, multiple people:
  • James Menzies (1821–1888), New Zealand politician
  • James Menzies (Wisconsin politician) (1830–1913), American politician
• John Menzies, multiple people:
  • John Menzies (businessman) (1808–1879), Scottish bookseller and entrepreneur
  • John A. Menzies, Manitoba judge
  • John Henry Menzies (1839–1919), New Zealand woodcarver
  • John K. Menzies (1948–2022), American diplomat and academic
• Karen Menzies (born 1962), Australian footballer
• Karl Menzies (born 1977), Australian cyclist
• Mark Menzies (born 1971), British politician
• Neal Menzies (born 1959), 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 (born 1973), Australian rugby league player
• Stewart Menzies (1890–1968), Head of British Secret Intelligence Service 1939–1952
• Ted Menzies (born 1952), Canadian politician
• Tobias Menzies (born 1974), British actor
• William Cameron Menzies (1896–1957), American film director

As a given name

• Iain Menzies Banks (1954–2013), Scottish writer, pen name used for his science fiction works
• Walter Menzies Campbell (born 1941), former leader of the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom

See also

• Clan Menzies, Scottish clan
• Mingus (disambiguation), pronounced similarly

Footnotes

1. 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

1. David Hey, Clan Menzies website
2. BBC Alba - Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh (554)
3. Family names and family history, pp 37-38
4. Bernd Kappenberg (2014). Setting Signs for Europe. Columbia University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-3-8382-6703-6.