Am I Scots-Irish or Irish?

  Many Americans today wrongly believe themselves to be Irish Americans when they are in fact Scots-Irish
  Americans. An easy way to help determine whether someone is of Scots-Irish (Ulster-Scots) ancestry, rather
  than Irish is by the following:

  1. Religion

  Those of Scots-Irish background are more likely to be of the Protestant faith (usually Presbyterian or Baptist).

  Those of Irish ancestry are most likely to be Roman Catholic.

  2. Surnames

  Scots-Irish names include those with the Scottish prefix of 'Mac' or 'Mc' (e.g. MacDonald, MacDowell,   McCloud) and names such as Campbell, Graham and Ferguson.

  Irish names include those with the Irish prefix 'O' (e.g. O'Neill, O'Donnell, O'Rourke) and names such as Quinn,   Fitzpatrick and Murphy.

  3. Emigration period

  The Scots-Irish left north of Ireland (Ulster) in the 1700's and were the early frontiersmen who carved America   out of the wilderness. The Scots-Irish are particularly numerous across the American Mid-West and the   Southern States.

  The Irish arrived on mass in America in the second half of the 19th century following the potato famine. They   tended to congregate in Irish Catholic communities in cities such as New York, Chicago and Boston.

  www.ulsterscotssociety.com

  Scots-Irish

  Scots-Irish is the term for ethnicity which is a mix of Scots and Irish, or for a person or people of such ancestry.

  ("Scots-Irish" is frequently confused with the term "Scotch-Irish", also an ethnic term.)

  The Irish and the Scots: A Shared Surname Heritage