Mick, Mack or Muck?

The Americans can’t decide if it’s mack or mick Donald’s, the Brits stick with muhk Donald’s, and the rest of the world play it safe with ‘Mac’ (as in Old MacDonald Had A Farm)

Recordings of People Saying ‘McDonald’s

 
British English [muhk-Don-uhldz] [məkˈdɒnəldz]

US English 1 [mack-DON-uhldz]

US English 2 [mik-DAHN-uhldz]

Singapore [mac-donna]

Korean [mac-don-aye-der]

Japanese [ma-ku-do-na-ru-do]

So Which is Correct?

Mac or Mc is a Gaelic name, so we must ask an Irish or Scottish person.

Apparently, there is no Irish/Scottish difference between Mac or Mc. ‘Mac’ is actually an individual word that means “son of”. Some families spell it one way, some another: Macdonald is the same as McDonald and Mcdonald. Old records contain spellings Mac and others Mc, because standardised spelling is a very recent phenomenon. The spelling can even change over the life of one person. i.e. birth, baptism, marriage and funeral records could have different spellings.

How do they pronounce McDonald? “MackDonald”