-In Spite Of All The Danger-

"John habitually left his top shirt button undone and his tie crooked; often before they went onstage, in an almost wifely—or motherly-gesture, Paul would stand him still and do up the button for him."

The Beatles, Montague Place, 5 March 1963

as some people know, john's paternal family was from northern ireland, and his surname is the anglicization of an irish surname, most likely ó'leannáin, which means "descendant of leannáin". leannáin means "lover". lennon could also be an anglicization of ó'lonáin, meaning '"descendant of lónain". lónain means "blackbird" (hence why some people think that paul's song "blackbird" has a double meaning). however the primary root of lennon is the first and ó'lonáin is a surname from southern ireland, so the origin of john's surname is most likely the first.

cool, but here's the catch. paul's family also comes from ireland from both sides, but up 'til 2008 it wasn't clear where his paternal family came from, and i think it was assumed that mcartney was an anglicization of irish mac artáin (artáin means "little bear", which pairs well with "blackbird"). however paul's brother mike found out their family descends from the mccarthy mor clan of southern ireland, apparently, so over the years mccarthy became mccartney. the name mccarthy is an anglicization of irish mac cárthaigh. guess what cárthaigh means? "beloved".