Menzies

Menzies is a Scottish surname. It is traditionally pronounced /ˈmɪŋɪs/ ^ⓘ or /ˈmɪŋɪz/, although the spelling pronunciation /ˈmɛnziːz/ is also heard, especially outwith Scotland.^[1]

The name is ultimately of French origin, deriving from the village of Mesnières in Normandy (which makes it a doublet of the English surname Manners, borne by the Dukes of Rutland).^[2] The earliest bearer of the name in Scotland was Robert de Meyners (d. 1267), who served as chamberlain to King Alexander III.^[3][4] His descendants established themselves at Weem in Perthshire, building Castle Menzies.^[5] Their name was rendered in Gaelic as Mac Mèinn or Mèinnearach,^[3] the former of which is the source of the surname McMinn.^[6]

Early forms of the name include Meigners, Meignes and Menȝes.^[3] The medial digraph in each of these forms represents the voiced palatal nasal, which was found in Early Scots in words of French and Gaelic origin. This sound later developed into /nj/, /ŋj/ or /ŋ/, hence the modern pronunciation of the name.^[7] The modern spelling reflects substitution of ⟨z⟩ for the obsolete letter yogh, as in names like Dalziel and Finzean.