McCarry is an Irish surname of Gaelic origin that functions as a patronymic, indicating descent from an ancestor bearing the personal name Fearghas.
The Gaelic root is Mac Fhearaigh, which literally translates as “son of Fearghas.” The element *fear* means “man” and *gus* conveys “vigor” or “force,” so the name as a whole expresses the idea of a lineage belonging to a man of strength.
Across the centuries the spelling of the name has varied considerably. Recorded forms include McCarry, McAree, McGarry, McHarry, and in Ulster the versions Maharey, Maharrey, and Meharry. In County Monaghan the name was occasionally recorded as King, an anglicised corruption that has no logical link to the original meaning but arose from the similarity of the sound Mac an Ri (“son of king”). Another pre‑10th‑century form is Mag Fhearadhaigh, meaning “the son of the descendant of the fearless one.”
Historical evidence places the surname chiefly in the northern province of Ulster, particularly County Donegal, where it remains most common. Early documentation shows the name in Dublin: the earliest known spelling appears in a 28 September 1625 witness statement by Nickolas Magheree at the church of St John the Evangelist, during the reign of King Charles I. Other examples include Grizzel Meharry of Killyleagh, County Down (1742), Mary McGarry of Downpatrick (1779), and Mary McCarry, a passenger on the Liverpool‑bound vessel Marmion that departed Belfast for New York on 25 May 1846 amid the Great Famine.
In the modern era the surname continues to be borne in Ireland, especially in County Donegal and rows of Ulster and Munster, while significant emigrant communities have spread the name across the English‑speaking world. It is found in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Britain, where it occasionally appears in variant spellings such as McCary or MacCarry.
Despite the diversity of forms, the essential meaning of McCarry as an identifier of lineage from a man of valor or strength remains consistent across its historical and contemporary uses.