This interesting name is of Scottish origin, especially the Galloway Region, and is the anglicization of the Gaelic 'MacAscaidh', meaning 'son of Ascaidh', itself a pet form of Askell. The name Askell, or the Gaelic MacAsgaill, derives from the Old Norse personal name 'Asketill', which translates as 'the Kettle, or sacrificial vessel of the Anses', i.e., gods. In the 'accounts of the lord high treasurer' it reads that one Thom McKasky (see below) was one of the workmen engaged in 'the byggen of the Kyngis rowbarge byggyte in Dunbretane'. In 1514, Thomas MaKeasky was 'reidare' (a reader in a minor order of the Scottish church after the Reformation) at Glasfurde, and Thomas M'Caskie was admitted burgess Freeman of Glasgow in 1588. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thom McKasky, which was dated 1494, 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 have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.