As far as I know slaves took the last name's of their masters as their own last names, but were there really that Irish slave masters? Weren't most of the Irish in America poor and also discriminated against at the time? Or is there another reason for black people with names like Donovan McNabb and Shaquille O'Neal?
hi! there's always room for more contributions on this, but meanwhile, get started on this section of the FAQ* - there's a subsection on North American names
*see the link on the sidebar or the wiki tab