Menzies

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

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). The earliest bearer of the name in Scotland was Robert de Meyners (d. 1267), who served as chamberlain to King Alexander III. His descendants established themselves at Weem in Perthshire, building Castle Menzies. Their name was rendered in Gaelic as Mac Mèinn or Mèinnearach, the former of which is the source of the surname McMinn.

Early forms of the name include Meigners, Meignes and Menȝes. 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. The modern spelling reflects substitution of ⟨z⟩ for the obsolete letter yogh, as in names like Dalziel and Finzean.

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)
Sir Charles Menzies (1783–1866), Royal Marines officer
Dane Menzies (born 2005), New Zealand snowboarder
Danni Menzies, British presenter of A Place in the Sun
David Menzies (1873–1936), Scottish football player and manager
Diane Menzies, New Zealand landscape architect
Douglas Menzies (1907–1974), Justice of the High Court of Australia
Finlay Menzies (born 2005), Scottish para-athlete
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
Marvin Menzies (born 1961), American college basketball coach
Neal Menzies (born 1959), Australian professor of soil science
Peter Menzies Jr., Australian cinematographer
Ralph Menzies (1958–2025), 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

References

↑ Pointon, Graham, ed. (1990). BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (2nd ed.). Oxford: the University Press. p. 170. ISBN 0-19-282745-6.
↑ Hanks, Coates & McClure 2016, pp. 1687, 1828.
1 2 3 Black, George F. (1946). The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History. New York: New York Public Library. p. 595.
↑ "Robert Menzies, chamberlain (d. 1267)". People of Medieval Scotland. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
↑ Foster, Joseph (1882). The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage of the British Empire. Vol. 2. Westminster: Nichols and Sons. p. 425.
↑ Hanks, Coates & McClure 2016, p. 1796.
↑ Macafee, Caroline; Aitken, A. J. (2015) [2003]. "The Phonology of Older Scots" (PDF). Collected Writings on the Scots Language. By Aitken, A. J. Macafee, Caroline (ed.). Scots Language Centre. p. 29.

Hanks, Patrick; Coates, Richard; McClure, Peter (2016). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-967776-4.

This page lists people with the surname Menzies.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

[1] Pointon, Graham, ed. (1990). BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (2nd ed.). Oxford: the University Press. p. 170. ISBN 0-19-282745-6.

[FOOTNOTEHanksCoatesMcClure20161687,_1828-2] Hanks, Coates & McClure 2016, pp. 1687, 1828.

[black-3] 1 2 3 Black, George F. (1946). The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History. New York: New York Public Library. p. 595.

[4] "Robert Menzies, chamberlain (d. 1267)". People of Medieval Scotland. Retrieved 5 June 2026.

[5] Foster, Joseph (1882). The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage of the British Empire. Vol. 2. Westminster: Nichols and Sons. p. 425.

[FOOTNOTEHanksCoatesMcClure20161796-6] Hanks, Coates & McClure 2016, p. 1796.

[7] Macafee, Caroline; Aitken, A. J. (2015) [2003]. "The Phonology of Older Scots" (PDF). Collected Writings on the Scots Language. By Aitken, A. J. Macafee, Caroline (ed.). Scots Language Centre. p. 29.

Menzies

People with the surname

See also

References