The spelling of "McKee" is influenced by the phonetics of the English language. The initial "Mc" represents a common Irish and Scottish prefix meaning "son of," pronounced as /mək/. The "K" in "McKee" represents the unvoiced velar plosive sound /k/, which is produced by completely blocking airflow with the back of the tongue against the soft palate. The double "E" at the end of the word is pronounced as a diphthong /iː/. To sum up, the phonetic transcription of "McKee" would be /məkiː/.
The word "McKee" is actually a surname of Irish origin. It is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname "MacAodha" or "Mac Aodha", which means "son of Aodh". In Irish, Aodh is a name referring to the Celtic god of fire and is often associated with the phrase "bright flame". Over time, the surname MacAodha became anglicized as "McKee". Like many other surnames of Irish origin, it was adopted by families who migrated to English-speaking countries such as the United States.