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MCMASTER Family History

This interesting surname is of Gaelic origin, found in Ireland and Scotland, and is the Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "MacMaighstir", composed of the Gaelic prefix "Mac", son of, and "maighstir", master, a cleric, from the Latin "magister". In Scotland the surname is now found mainly in the shires of Dumfries and Wigtown, but was also the name of a sept in Ardgour which traditionally are said to have been dispossessed by the Macleans in the 15th Century. In Ireland, the MacMasters are a Breffny sept (Cavan and West Leitrim) and early Anglicized forms of the name recorded in the "Fiants" (circa early 1600's) include: MacAmaster, MacYmaster and MacMester, and were found in all stations of life, mostly in Cavan and Longford .