Menzies#Pronunciation
Derivation and history
The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived from the Norman name Mesnières, from the town of Mesnières-en-Bray in Normandy.David Hey, [http://www.menzies.org/history/index.htm Clan Menzies website][http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/alba/foghlam/learngaelic/litir/pdf/501_600/litir554.pdf BBC Alba - Litir do Luchd-ionnsachaidh (554)][https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VqzHmppBcl4C&oi=fnd&pg=PP7e Family names and family history, pp 37-38]
Pronunciation
The traditional Scottish pronunciation of the name is {{IPAc-en|audio=Menzies.ogg|ˈ|m|ɪ|ŋ|ɪ|s}} {{respell|MING|iss}}, reflecting the spelling of the name as {{lang|ang|Menȝies}}, using the letter {{big|{{angle bracket|ȝ}}}} (yogh). The current spelling arose when yogh fell out of use in the Scots language and was replaced with the similar-looking tailed variant () of the letter {{angle bracket|z}}.{{cite book |title=Setting Signs for Europe |author=Bernd Kappenberg |page=30 |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-3-8382-6703-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w7c-DQAAQBAJ&q=Menȝies&pg=PA30}}
However, outside Scotland the name is often given the pronunciation {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛ|n|z|iː|z}} {{respell|MEN|zeez}}, reflecting the current spelling.
A Scottish limerick plays on the traditional pronunciation:
There wis a young lassie named Menzies, That askit her aunt whit this thenzies.
Said her aunt wi a gasp,
"Ma dear, it's a wasp,
An you're haudin the end whaur the stenzies!"{{efn|Translation: There was a young girl named Menzies ["Mingiss"], / That asked her aunt what this thing is. / Said her aunt with a gasp, / "My dear, it's a wasp, / And you're holding the end where the sting is!"}}
The second and fifth lines are pronounced as though the
People with the surname
- Alan W. C. Menzies (1877–1966), Scots-born chemist and professor of chemistry at Princeton University
- Alex Menzies, Scottish football player
- Alex Menzies (footballer, born 1882) (1882–1964), Scottish international football player
- Archibald Menzies (1754–1842), British medic and biologist; ship's doctor and naturalist on board George Vancouver's voyage to the North Pacific
- Beryl Menzies (married name Beryl Fowler, 1881–1963), English painter
- Cameron Menzies (born 1989), Scottish darts player
- Charles Menzies (anthropologist)
- Charles Menzies (Royal Marines officer) (1783–1866), Royal Marines officer
- Danni Menzies, British presenter of A Place in the Sun
- David Menzies (died 1936), Scottish football player and manager
- Diane Menzies, New Zealand landscape architect
- Douglas Menzies (1907–1974), former Justice of the High Court of Australia
- Frederick Menzies (1875–1949), British physician
- Gavin Menzies (1937–2020), British retired submarine captain and author
- George Menzies (1930–2016), New Zealand rugby league footballer
- Gina Menzies, Irish media personality
- Heather Menzies (1949–2017), Canadian actress
- Henry Menzies (rugby union) (1867–1938), Scottish rugby player
- Hugh Menzies (1857–1925), Australian politician
- Ivan Menzies (1896–1985), singer and actor
- James Menzies (disambiguation)
- John Menzies (disambiguation)
- Karen Menzies (born 1962), Australian footballer
- Karl Menzies (born 1977), Australian cyclist
- Mark Menzies (born 1971), British politician
- Neal Menzies (born 1959), Australian professor of soil science
- Peter Menzies Jr., Australian cinematographer
- Ralph Leroy Menzies (born 1958), American murderer
- Robert Menzies (1894–1978), Australia's longest-serving prime minister
- Sadie Menzies (1914–1996), founder member of the Revolutionary Workers Group
- Sharon Menzies, 21st century New Zealand financier
- Steve Menzies (born 1973), Australian rugby league player
- Stewart Menzies (1890–1968), Head of British Secret Intelligence Service 1939–1952
- Ted Menzies (born 1952), Canadian politician
- Tobias Menzies (born 1974), British actor
- William Cameron Menzies (1896–1957), American film director
See also
- Clan Menzies, Scottish clan
- Mingus (disambiguation), pronounced similarly
Footnotes
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