and again, the influence of the 1465 Statute on the New England Colonies
From: http://search.ancestry.com/db-irish/P19.aspx?

"There are indications, because of the manner in which certain surnames were spelled by recording officers, that historical writers were led to believe that all who bore them were English, though, as a matter of fact, some of these people were Scotch or Irish. Among the Irish, there are many families of the old native stock whose names give no indication at all of their racial origin. This was the result of the operations of a law enacted by the English Parliament in the year 1465, under which families in Ireland living within the Pale, by which the territory then within the military jurisdiction of England was called, were compelled to change or disguise their names, or adopt names after trades, occupations, colors or places. Outside the Pale, this law was not effective. This Act was entitled:
[p.50]
An Act that the Irishmen dwelling in the Counties of Dublin, Myeth, Uriell and Kildare, shall goe apparrelled like Englishmen and weare their beards after the English maner, sweare alleageance and take English surnames. The wording of the Act was, in part, as follows: At the request of the Commons it is ordeyened and established by authority of said parliament that every Irishman that dwells betwixt or amongst Englishmen in the County of Dublin, Myeth, Uriell or Kildare ..... shall take unto him an English surname of one towne, as Sutton, Chester, Trym, Corke, Kinsale; or colour, as white, blacke, browne; or arte or science, as smith or carpenter; or office, as cooke, butler; and he and his issue shall use this name under payne of forfeyting of his goods yearely till the premises be done, to be levied two times by the yeare to the Kings warres according to the discretion of the lieutenant of the king or his deputy.
Heads of Irish families resorted to different methods of complying with this law. Some dropped the Mac or O, and in course of time their names were further disguised by dropping or inserting a letter or a syllable; others, putting a literal construction on the law, took names that were entirely foreign to or had no resemblance whatsoever to their Irish patronymics. But the more frequent method was to translate their names into their English equivalents. Thus we can understand how a native of Ireland bearing the name Smith or Johnson, for example, can be of as ancient Irish origin as if he bore the original family name, MacGowan or MacShane, whose literal meaning is the son of the smith or the son of Shane or John, respectively. A great many instances of similarly translated names can be cited. "

Perhaps a similar effect on names occured in the Isle of Man.