MCGRADY
Recorded variant spellings include Mc Grady, Mcgrady
McGrady is a surname of Gaelic origin, derived from the Irish name Mac Grádaigh, which literally means son of Grádaigh. The personal name Grádaigh is believed to come from the word grádach, signifying a person of noble or illustrious character. Consequently, the surname can be understood to denote a descendant of a noble or illustrious ancestor.
This surname is closely related to a number of other variants which have appeared in historical records. These include MacBrady, MacGrady, and O'Grady, in addition to the short forms that begin with Mc and the unprefixed names Brady and Grady. All of these forms are recognised as belonging to the same Irish clan, originally located in County Cavan. The earliest recorded form, Mac Bradaigh, dates from before the tenth century and translates to something akin to “son of the very spirited one,” a descriptor attributed to the clan’s first chief.
During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the name was recorded in the form O'Grady, and a prominent figure bearing the surname, John O'Grady, served as Archbishop of Tuam between 1364 and 1372. The 16th century witnessed a significant transformation in naming conventions. Around the time of King Henry V (1510‑1547), many members of the clan adopted Protestantism and aligned themselves with the English monarchy, which led to the gradual abandonment of the prefixes Mac, Mc and O from the surname. Despite this shift, a 20th‑century revival of these prefixes has been noted in some modern usage.
Several individuals of historical note have carried the name. Hugh Brady was a Protestant Bishop of Meath who died in 1584. Fiachra MacBrady was a Gaelic poet active in 1710. Michael Brady, who served the Jacobite forces during the 1745 rebellion in Scotland, died during the conflict. These figures illustrate the broad geographical spread of the surname and its bearers’ involvement in significant ecclesiastical and military events across Ireland and Scotland.
Typical given names associated with the McGrady surname
Male
- Anthony
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Joseph
- Michael
- Patrick
- Paul
- Peter
- William
Female
- Catherine
- Charlotte
- Elizabeth
- Julie
- Kelly
- Margaret
- Mary
- Maureen
- Michelle
- Patricia
- Ruth
- Samantha
- Sarah
- Susan
- Victoria
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 McGrady in...
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There are approximately 1,074 people named McGrady in the UK. That makes it roughly the 6,988th most common surname in Britain. Around 16 in a million people in Britain are named McGrady.
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 McGrady
- Tracy McGrady - American basketball player
- Eddie McGrady - Politician (1935 to 2013)
- Stuart McGrady - Football player (1985 to 2015)
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.