In the context of a typical model for fermion mass matrices, possibly based on the horizontal U (2) symmetry, we explore the effect of the type II seesaw mechanism on lepton mixings. We find that the combined contribution of type I and type II terms is able to explain the large but not maximal 1-2 mixing and the near maximal 2-3 mixing, while the 1-3 mixing angle is predicted to be small.