Origin Name: Clan MacBeth

Origin of Name: Son of life; a man of religion

The gaelic for whisky is uisge beatha which translates as `water of life'. Uisge (pronounced ooshke) means water and beatha means life. As an aside, this is the same gaelic root as Macbeth, the 'son of life'. The famous Macbeth who was King of Scots, actually had Macbeth as his Christian name, *not* his surname. [-- Brian Russell, Edinburgh]

One of the exceptions among the `Macs', the name MacBeth means not the son of any person `Beth', but `Son of Life' or a man of religion. It developed separately from the name MacBean, and has also become confused with forms of the Norman name Bethune.

Shakespeare, playing his immortal light over the old Celtic throne of Scotland, brings to focus the ruler of Moray who enforced his family claim thereon by the murder of King Duncan in 1040.

MacBeths, frequently called Beatons, held high repute and rank from the 14th century to the 17th, as physicians, and chancellors to the MacDonalds of Islay and the MacLeans of Mull, sometimes also to royalty and elsewhere. [From `Scots Kith & Kin']

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