McReynolds
An Irish and Scottish surname meaning “son of Reynolds,” ultimately from a medieval personal name built on the element for “counsel.”
The #4,795 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 41,875 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McReynolds is a patronymic surname: the prefix Mc/ Mac means “son of,” and Reynolds is a given-name surname. Reynolds comes through Norman French from a medieval personal name, usually traced to a Germanic compound based on the element for “counsel” or “advice” combined with a power/strength element. In practice, the full surname means “son of Reynolds,” rather than describing a place or occupation.
History
The form is most strongly associated with Ireland and Scotland, where Mc/Mac surnames are especially common, though the underlying Reynolds name also spread widely in England. In records, spellings with Mc-, Mac-, and sometimes plain Reynolds can shift from one generation to the next, so the surname may reflect later anglicization as well as direct Gaelic usage. In North America, McReynolds is one of several surnames that became fixed in spelling only after migration and census-era standardization.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Reynolds itself began life as a personal name, so McReynolds is effectively a “double surname story”: a Gaelic-style son-of prefix attached to a name with deep medieval Continental roots.