MAGEE
Magee is a surname of Gaelic origin which has long been associated with the Christian and Celtic heritage of the British Isles. The name is found most prominently within Ireland, especially in the northern province of Ulster, and it also appears in historical records from Scotland and the Isle of Man.
The surname derives from the Gaelic patronymic Mac Aodha, literally meaning son of Aodh. The element Aodh is a personal byname that translates as fire or fiery, a word that in older times also denoted a pagan deity of fire. In the Christian era this figurative sense was absorbed into the naming tradition, giving the surname an aura of warmth and vitality.
In Ireland the Magee family were chiefly concentrated along the frontier between the counties of Donegal and Tyrone. Historical references highlight that the family held a strip of land to the east of Lough Larn, north of Lough Larne, in County Antrim – an area now called Island Magee – which bears witness to the once significant possession of the clan.
Scottish documentation bears witness to the name as early as the reign of King Edward I. In 1296 a Gilmighel MacEthe is recorded as rendering homage at Dumfries, and a MacGhethe intervened as a juror in Annandale in 1304. The surname survives on the Orkney Islands in a 1424 record of Michael Magy. Further evidence of the name’s endurance comes from a 1649 marriage of an Agnis Muggye in Templemore, Derry, and a christening of Alexander Moggy at Ballymoney, Antrim in 1831.
The earliest surviving mention of the family appears in early medieval documents from County Westmeath, where a chief of the sept named Teag MacGee is dated to around 1000 A.D., a time when King Brian Boru ruled as High King of Ireland.
Over the centuries the surname has taken a number of orthographic variants, including MacGee, McGee, MacGhee, McGoey, McGahy, Mogey, Moggy, Moggie, MacGhie and other spellings. These variations reflect regional dialects and the evolution of Gaelic into English orthography.
Through its long-standing presence in the northern reaches of the British Isles, the Magee surname remains a marker of Gaelic heritage, Christian tradition, and the enduring legacy of a people whose name carries the embers of fire and the promise of continuity.
Typical given names associated with the Magee surname
Male
- David
- James
- John
- Michael
- Patrick
- Paul
- Robert
- Stephen
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Catherine
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Kathleen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Michelle
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Sharon
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Magee in...
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There are approximately 6,453 people named Magee in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,467th most common surname in Britain. Around 99 in a million people in Britain are named Magee.
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Ireland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Magee
- Bryan Magee - Politician (1930 to 2019)
- John Gillespie Magee Jr. - Aviator and poet (1922 to 1941)
- Eamonn Magee - Boxer
- Brian Magee - Boxer
- Mike Magee - Journalist
- Tracey Magee - Journalist
- Damien Magee - Racecar driver
- Roy Magee - Minister (1930 to 2009)
- Tommy Magee - Football player (1899 to 1974)
- Eric Magee - Football player
- John Magee - Roman Catholic bishop in Ireland
- Jonathan Magee - Football player
- Eugene Magee - Field hockey player
- William Magee - Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin (1766 to 1831)
- Emma Magee -
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.