From Mac Daibhéid, ‘son of David’ — an Inishowen sept sprung from the same line as the O'Dohertys.
The Mcdaid certificate.
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Gaelic Origin · Root meaning ‘son of David’
McDaid anglicises Mac Daibhéid, built from the prefix Mac (‘son of’) and Daibhéid, the Gaelic rendering of David. The family descends from David Ó Dochartaigh, a Cenél Conaill chief slain in battle around 1208, and grew into a sept of its own around the Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal — closely kin to the O'Dohertys who ruled there.
A name and its parent clan, still standing on the same stretch of Donegal ground eight centuries on — proof that a junior branch can hold its ground as firmly as the family it grew from.
Irish form: Mac Daibhéid
