Manx surnames

Surnames originating on the Isle of Man reflect the recorded history of the island, which can be divided into three different eras — Gaelic, Norse, and English.

During the first period of recorded history the island was occupied by Celtic speaking peoples and later Christianised by Irish missionaries.

By the 13th century the island became a Scottish possession, but passed back and forth between Scotland and England for a hundred years before finally coming under British rule[clarification needed], resulting in open immigration from the occupying country.

According to J. J. Kneen, there are several instances of feminine surnames using IIne as late as the early 19th century,[5] During the 18th century, formal documents in English (for example parish registers and probate records) made use of the Latin "Alias" to incorporate the maiden name of a married woman or widow, for example "Mr. Robert Kelly of the Rock in the parish of Marown and his wife Isabel Kelly als Clucas".

[6] The following table shows the top ten surnames found in the 1986 telephone directory on the Isle of Man.

[note 1] This table lists the surnames of the 1881 census which have the highest percentage of appearing on the Isle of Man.