# Earliest Maharg **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 5, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037 "2018-11-05T20:38:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/1 "2018-11-05T20:38:16Z")
Maharg is a surname. For example, a [John Archibald Maharg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Archibald_Maharg) (1872-1944) was a Saskatchewan politician. But it also is a backwards spelling of **Graham**. Apparently someone named Graham (which is the name of a [Scottish clan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Graham)) reversed their name for some reason. Any idea who did it and how long ago it was? ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/2 "2018-11-05T21:13:18Z")
Are you sure it wasn’t just a contraction of a MacXYZ to MaXYZ? The guy was born in Ontario and likely would be of Scottish decent. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/3 "2018-11-05T21:41:08Z")
Yeah, the reversed spelling might just be a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/4 "2018-11-05T21:44:25Z")
I’m afraid I have nothing to add except this thread title made me laugh for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/5 "2018-11-05T21:53:43Z")
Apparently [“MacHarg” is an ancient Scottish surname](http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/MacHarg) with its origins going back to the 10th century: > [@](#): > > Further rare forms of the name include: M’Quharge, MacElharge, MacIlhargy, MacIlhagga and Maharg. Not saying that there can’t **also** be Mahargs descended from some eccentric Graham who decided to reverse his spelling, but that is definitely not the sole or primary origin of the surname Maharg. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/6 "2018-11-05T22:34:09Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > The guy was born in Ontario and likely would be of Scottish decent. But Graham is Scottish also, as I pointed out in the OP. And note that I didn’t think that guy was the one who reversed his last name. > [@Kimstu](#): > > Apparently [“MacHarg” is an ancient Scottish surname](http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/MacHarg) with its origins going back to the 10th century: Well, OK, maybe. It kind of strains belief that two 6-letter surnames of the same nationality are exact reverse spellings of each other. (Not counting palindromes, in which case it’s not two names anyway.) I think there’s something fishy about these here Mahargs… do they come from Dnaltocs on Htrae or something? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/7 "2018-11-05T23:21:10Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Well, OK, maybe. It kind of strains belief that two 6-letter surnames of the same nationality are exact reverse spellings of each other. Maybe your belief just needs a little more exercise. For example, “Rennit” and “Tinner” are another pair of actual surnames, as are “Rennet” and “Tenner”, “Lasser” and “Ressal”, and “Nellie” and “Eillen”. There are many others. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/8 "2018-11-06T00:17:03Z")
General rule of thumb: never be surprised by the spelling or pronunciation of a Scottish name For example, I have distant cousins named “Colquhoun” Pronounced the same as other Scots named “Calhoun”. And the same as other Scots named “Cahoon”. Or “Cohoun”. And let’s not start talking about Menzies (pronounced “Mingus”) and Strachan (pronounced “Strawn”). And, getting back to the OP’s example, there are those who say that “Graham” is a mis-spelling, and the proper spelling is “Graeme”. (Amongst others, that’s the spelling Scott used in “Lochinvar”.) ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/9 "2018-11-06T00:19:59Z")
> **[Billy Maharg](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Maharg)** > > William Joseph Maharg, (March 19, 1881 – November 20, 1953) was a professional boxer that has three distinct historical connections with Major League Baseball—first, as a replacement player in the 1912 Detroit Tigers' players strike; second, for a one-game stint with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1916, and third, for his role in the 1919 Chicago Black Sox Scandal. > Maharg's first appearance in baseball came on May 18, 1912. Three days earlier, Ty Cobb jumped into the stands and attacked a handica... ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/10 "2018-11-06T02:07:03Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Maybe your belief just needs a little more exercise. For example, “Rennit” and “Tinner” are another pair of actual surnames, as are “Rennet” and “Tenner”, “Lasser” and “Ressal”, and “Nellie” and “Eillen”. There are many others. And all those have a central double letter. Find some that don’t. Also, Eillen and Nellie are first names, as far as I can tell. ETA: Billy Maharg was born later than my example in the OP, so definitely not the original Maharg ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/11 "2018-11-06T15:14:29Z")
In the Starcraft games, there’s a character named “Artanis”. Nobody’s sure whether the name originates from “Sinatra” spelled backwards, or from a Tolkien character who bears the same name. Or, possibly, neither. Coincidences happen, and it’d be a really weird world if they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/12 "2018-11-06T22:58:14Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > And all those have a central double letter. Find some that don’t. :rolleyes: Would you mind telling me **why** you’ve suddenly decided that having a central double letter disqualifies a pair of [ananymic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananym) surnames from being a valid example? While I’m watching those goalposts dance around the field, here are some other ananymic surname pairs that conform to your after-the-fact qualification about lacking a central double letter: Remert and Tremer Nialor and Rolain Treden and Nedert Lagnam and Mangal > [@dtilque](#): > > Also, Eillen and Nellie are first names, as far as I can tell. Are you perhaps mistaking “Eillen” for “Ellen” or “Eileen”? In any case, many given names are also surnames, but if this flexibility is really bothering you, Eillan and Nallie are also an ananymic surname pair. I don’t get why you seem to be so resistant to what I would have thought was the pretty unremarkable fact that surnames are spelled lots of different ways, so it’s not really that unusual for one attested name to be the reverse of another attested name. After all, given how easy it is to find ananymic surnames that are shorter—Man and Nam, Flet and Telf, etc.—it should be pretty apparent that statistically speaking, there are bound to be some ananymic surname pairs as long as six letters. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/13 "2018-11-07T08:32:18Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > :rolleyes: Would you mind telling me **why** you’ve suddenly decided that having a central double letter disqualifies a pair of [ananymic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananym) surnames from being a valid example? A central double letter increases the chance of finding a reversal. It’s more like having a 5.5-letter name rather than 6-letter. > [@](#): > > While I’m watching those goalposts dance around the field, here are some other ananymic surname pairs that conform to your after-the-fact qualification about lacking a central double letter: > > Remert and Tremer > Nialor and Rolain > Treden and Nedert > Lagnam and Mangal Perhaps you should note the other qualification I put in there, about having the two names be from the same ethnic/linguistic group (I said nationality, but that’s what I really meant). I have no idea what the origins of the above names are, but expect most, if not all, of them are not the same as their reversal. > [@](#): > > Are you perhaps mistaking “Eillen” for “Ellen” or “Eileen”? In any case, many given names are also surnames, but if this flexibility is really bothering you, Eillan and Nallie are also an ananymic surname pair. Nah, I just googled Eillen and didn’t find anyone with that as a last name in the first 4 pages of results. There were a bunch with it as a first name though. I’m not sure what language Eillen would be; if I had to guess, I’d say Irish. Almost certainly not English like Nellie is. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/14 "2018-11-07T12:51:34Z")
The U.S. Census Bureau provides a list of surnames that occurred 100 or more times in a recent census. Just for fun, I looked for anagrammable surnames in that list. The total number of such surnames was HUGE. There were several instances of 16- or 15-sized groups, for examples Marine Reiman Rieman Minear Manier Marien Amrine Mainer Amrein Maneri Manire Merian Armeni Minera Amerin Emrani Randle Ladner Lander Lenard Nadler Randel Larned Andler Nalder Erland Landre Andrle Anderl Danler Darnel Lakes Leaks Leask Salek Kasel Laske Lekas Lasek Lesak Klase Klaes Leska Kales Selak Akles Kasle Rogan Organ Garon Ragon Agron Garno Agnor Grano Ragno Goran Grona Ronga Rango Narog Agron Nogar Most anagramable among 8-letter surnames was Tischler Christel Litscher Stichler Christle Slichter Ritschel Schilter For 9 letters Rosendahl Haroldsen Halderson Sholander Handloser For 11 letters Picklesimer Pickelsimer Spickelmier There were 16 pairs of 14-letter anagramable surnames, but all of these were of the following form: Lopez-Rodriguez Rodriguez-Lopez ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/15 "2018-11-07T13:09:42Z")
[\*\*Origins of the name “Maharg” \*\*](http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Maharg) > [@](#): > > Recorded as Mac Harg, Maharg, McHarg, and others as shown below, this is a surname of Scottish origin. It is a developed form of the pre 10th century Old Gaelic “MacGiolla Chairge”, meaning the son of the follower or devotee of Cairge. This was a saint’s name of great antiquity. Frequently, Gaelic family names are taken from the heads of tribes, revered elders, or some illustrious warrior, but in some instances, clan names indicated devotion to a particular saint or holy man. The Gaelic prefix “Mac” means “son of”, and “giolla”, also written as “gille”, translates literally as “attendant, man-servant, follower”, but is used here in the transferred sense of “devotee”. There were two main branches of this family: the MacHargs of Shalloch in the parish of Kirkpatrick-Irongray in Kirkcudbright, and the MacHargs of Cardorkan in the parish of Minnigaff (Kirkcudbright). The latter group, despite their saintly origins, appear to have been of a turbulent nature; Finlay M’Quharg and others of the name were “charged with fire raising, and the burning of houses belonging to Steward of Fintillauch” in 1581, and in 1592 they took an active part in a Galloway feud. Further forms of the name include: M’Quharge, MacElharge, MacIlhargy, and MacIlhagga with Martin M’Quharg who was burgess of Kirkcudbright in 1597, and on June 29th 1798, Isabella, daughter of Ebenezer and Barbara MacHarg, was christened in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Marion M’Quharge, which was dated 1493, in the “Scottish Antiquary”, Edinburgh, Scotland, during the reign of King James 1V of Scotland, 1488 - 1513. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country > > Read more: [Surname Database: Maharg Last Name Origin](http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Maharg#ixzz5WAqUHHYG) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/16 "2018-11-07T13:49:42Z")
116 Americans had the surname Treffert, the longest palindromic surname. Palindromic surnames of 7 letters are Diuguid Kascsak Reinier Rentner Surerus There were many surnames whose reversal is also a surname. Among those pairs with surnames of 7 letters or more OP’s example Graham-Maharg had the most common surname (Graham). However there are many pairs with both elements more common than Maharg, for example: Kinzer-Reznik Rengel-Legner Renier-Reiner Strebe-Eberts Wollam-Mallow ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/17 "2018-11-07T14:50:22Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > A central double letter increases the chance of finding a reversal. It’s more like having a 5.5-letter name rather than 6-letter. Good point. > [@dtilque](#): > > Perhaps you should note the other qualification I put in there, about having the two names be from the same ethnic/linguistic group (I said nationality, but that’s what I really meant). I have no idea what the origins of the above names are, but expect most, if not all, of them are not the same as their reversal. Tremer and Remert are both Germanic, for example (as are Strebe and Eberts from **septimus** ’s examples), and Eillan and Nallie are both Celtic-Gaelic while **septimus** ’s Wollam and Mallow are both English. > [@dtilque](#): > > Nah, I just googled Eillen and didn’t find anyone with that as a last name in the first 4 pages of results. :rolleyes: Did you try googling “Eillen surname”, for instance? Perhaps with “-Eileen” thrown in if you want to get really sophisticated with the search features? Honestly, **dtilque** , I don’t understand why you’re (uncharacteristically, AFAICT) fighting so strongly in the cause of ignorance on this issue. Are you really so attached to the folk-etymology explanation of “Maharg” that you insist on trying to make the existence of naturally ananymic surnames seem less probable than it is? It’s not all that common, natch, but it’s not impossibly rare either. Especially since there is a very plausible alternative explanation of “Maharg”, based on the well-attested surname “MacHarg” and the equally well-attested phenomenon of Gaelic “Mac” names losing their “c” in alternate spellings, I think you’re fighting a losing battle here. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/18 "2018-11-07T14:58:12Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > There were many surnames whose reversal is also a surname. Among those pairs with surnames of 7 letters or more OP’s example > Graham-Maharg > had the most common surname (Graham). 😕 Do you mean “7 letters or fewer”? Graham and Maharg both have 6 letters, not 7. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/19 "2018-11-07T17:51:49Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Honestly, **dtilque** , I don’t understand why you’re (uncharacteristically, AFAICT) fighting so strongly in the cause of ignorance on this issue. Are you really so attached to the folk-etymology explanation of “Maharg” that you insist on trying to make the existence of naturally ananymic surnames seem less probable than it is? It’s not all that common, natch, but it’s not impossibly rare either. Hey, I was mostly joking in post #6. I’m not really fighting the point. I guess the humor didn’t come through. But, there used to be a Maharg in SC that _was_ an intentional reversal (it’s been renamed Foss.) So finding people with that name pinged my suspicion meter. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037/20 "2018-11-07T19:54:22Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Hey, I was mostly joking in post #6. I’m not really fighting the point. I guess the humor didn’t come through. Ok, sorry to snap at you 🙂 > [@dtilque](#): > > But, there used to be a Maharg in SC that _was_ an intentional reversal (it’s been renamed Foss.) So finding people with that name pinged my suspicion meter. 😕 Are you maybe thinking of [Foss, Oklahoma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foss,_Oklahoma)? > [@](#): > > The history of Foss began when settlers from the area of the Wilson post office moved four miles north to the valley of Turkey Creek in the late 1890s. They initially wanted their new post office to be called Graham, but since that name was already taken it was named Maharg (an anagram of Graham). A flash flood on May 2, 1902 wiped out the town on Turkey Creek, destroying businesses and drowning several people. The town rebuilt on higher ground and was named Foss. I can’t find any reference to any town named “Foss” in South Carolina. Anyway, the ananymic Maharg placename in Oklahoma is from the very end of the 19th century, and there are instances of Maharg as a surname attested long before that. But perhaps the deliberate choice of the ananymic spelling for the town helped foster the folk etymology of the surname. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-maharg/824037.md?page=2)