Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 28, 2026

Maccus

Maccus is a personal name which is first attested and possibly coined in the tenth century. The name Maccus, later also written as Mac(c)hus, was especially common in the Border country.

Last revised

Jun 28, 2026

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Maccus is a personal name which is first attested and possibly coined in the tenth century.¹ The name Maccus, later also written as Mac(c)hus, was especially common in the Border country.

People with the given name

Maccus mac Arailt (fl. 971–974), also Maccus Haraldsson
Maccus son of Anlaf, named as Eric Bloodaxe's murderer
Maccus, a minor thane who fought at the Battle of Maldon and is mentioned in the poem of the same name

Place names

Longformacus (Scottish Gaelic Longphort Maccus)
Maxton (English Maccuses tun)
Maxwell(town) (Maccuses wylle).

In fiction

Maccus or Macchus, a stock character in Atellan Farce and a related figure in puppetry

References

References

David E. Thornton, "Hey Mac! The name Maccus, tenth to fifteenth centuries." Nomina 20 (1997-9): 67-94, with appendix by O.J. Padel on Talkarn Mackus, 95-8.