MCCAFFERY
Recorded variant spellings include Mc Caffery, Mccaffery
McCaffery is a surname of Irish origin. It is an anglicised form of the Gaelic name Mac Eachmharcaigh, which translates literally as “son of Eachmharcaigh”. The personal name Eachmharcaigh itself consists of each meaning “horse” and marcach meaning “rider” or “warrior”. Consequently, the surname can be interpreted to mean “son of the horse‑rider” or “son of the warrior”.
Historically the name has appeared in a number of spellings, notably MacCaffrey, MacCaffery and MacCafferky, as well as in the short form McCaffery. It is recorded as a sept surname in the British Isles, particularly in County Tyrone where the town of Ballymacaffry bears the family’s name, indicating a notable presence in that area. In Counties Meath, Cavan and Monaghan the surname has also been found without the “Mac” prefix.
Early official records are sparse, largely because the public archives of Ireland were largely destroyed in 1922 when the IRA seized the Public Records Office in Dublin. Nevertheless, surviving documents provide a trace of the name from the mid‑nineteenth century. In 1802 a witness named Frank MacCaffrey is recorded in a deed at Virginia, County Cavan. Two years later the “Famine emigrants” John (aged 23) and Eliza (aged 20) were documented leaving Ireland aboard the ship Atlas of Liverpool on 11 May 1846 to New York, most likely departing from Belfast Lough. In 1864 a baptismal entry records Patrick McCaffery at Scotstown, County Monaghan.
The earliest dated spelling of the family name appears in the 1659 Petty’s hearth‑tax register of Ireland. The entry for Hugh MacCaffrey was recorded during the reign of Richard Cromwell, who served as the Lord Protector between 1658 and 1659. This record demonstrates that the surname was already established in the seventeenth century.
Although the Gaelic origin of the name is well established, various sources have presented alternative explanations. Some have claimed that the name derives from Mac Gafraidh, meaning “son of Godfrey”, suggesting a possible connection with followers of the sixth‑century Saint Godfrey. Other accounts note the phonetic variant Mac Goffrey, although this form is now rare. In all these instances the recurrent element is a patronymic prefix, Mac (or Mc), signifying “son of”.
In contemporary times the surname McCaffery remains primarily within English‑speaking countries, particularly the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and Canada. This distribution reflects historical emigration patterns, especially during the Great Famine of the mid‑nineteenth century, when many Irish families carried their surnames abroad. The name thus persists as a testament to a rich Gaelic heritage that continues to be recognised across the world.
Typical given names associated with the McCaffery surname
Male
- Andrew
- Daniel
- Francis
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Patrick
- Paul
- Peter
- William
Female
- Alison
- Anne
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Jacqueline
- Jennifer
- Linda
- Margaret
- Mary
- Michelle
- Sarah
- Sheena
- 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 McCaffery in...
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Semaphore
There are approximately 1,460 people named McCaffery in the UK. That makes it roughly the 5,456th most common surname in Britain. Around 22 in a million people in Britain are named McCaffery.
Surname type: From name of parent
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Ireland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named McCaffery
- Aidan McCaffery - Football player
- Steve McCaffery - Canadian poet
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.