Moving the lower case "c" up above type in the last name McNeil?
I have been asked twice recently to move the lower case "c" up to line up with the other letters or above them - regarding the name McNeil or McDonald, etc…
I do not recall seeing this done in most situations.
Do you know why it would be necessary?
Solution 1:
I believe this is because the name element (now) usually expressed "Mc" is actually an abbreviation for "Mac"; at one time, superscript (often with an underline or under dots) was a common way of writing abbreviations without resort to an apostrophe. This is preserved in the symbol № for "number".
You can see an example of this in the signature on the letter below, abbreviating "Nathaniel" (from Wikimedia Commons):
Writing Mc as MC therefore preserves the original, "true" form of the name in a way that Mc does not (as it does not indicate the abbreviation).
There is also a discussion here about the aesthetic and legibility benefits of the superscript c, for more formal type-setting.
Solution 2:
Pronunciation.
The 'upper-C' is a type of diacritical mark. In the 'good old days' this used to have a line under the superscript C called macron. All these tend to alter the actual pronunciation of the name.
All this is to differentiate between Mick and Mack. The 'upper-C' is denoting the pronunciation to be Mack (as is Old MacDonald).
It should also be noted that it is archaic and doesn't really matter anymore.
- MacDonald
- McDonald
- Mc̄Donald
- Mc̱Donald
- MᶜDonald
- Mc̱Donald
If you really want to get into it, look up: punctum delens, lenites, etc.
Solution 3:
The computer killed the middlce case c, a raised c with 2 small lines underneath it. It was commonly available in old printing type faces but it was lost in conversion to computers. My family always used the middle case, but I have not found how to get it on the computer, though I have seen a a few times.