MCCREE

McCree is a surname of Gaelic origin that is found predominantly in Scotland. The name is patronymic, deriving from the Gaelic prefix Mac or Mc, meaning son of, followed by an ancestral personal name. Early sources record the surname as MacRiagh, which translates literally as son of the king. In other traditions the name is linked to the Gaelic MacRaith, meaning son of grace or son of prosperity. Both derivations emphasise a connection to authority, nobility, or favourable fortune.

The earliest documentary evidence of the surname appears in the early thirteenth century. An entry in the Cartularium Comitatus de Levenax dated to about 1225 records the name Alexander Macrad under the reign of King Alexander II of Scotland. A later record from 1376 lists Patrick M’Re or M’Rey as a tenant in the parish of Tibbers, Penpont. A further example from 1576 cites Dugall McRay as a witness to a charter at Kilmun in Ayrshire. These citations confirm the long standing use of the surname in Scottish land and legal records.

In the Irish context the name is attested on an ogham stone at Keenrath in County Cork, where it appears as Maqi Rati. This inscription suggests that the Gaelic personal name MacRaith may have been introduced into Scotland as early as the fifth century, when the Gaelic language arrived from Ireland. Subsequent migration of families and the movement of settlers during the historic plantation of Ulster also brought the name to the north of Ireland, where it evolved into the Irish surname MacGrath.

Over the centuries the spelling of the surname has diversified. Contemporary variants include McCray, McCrea, McCree, McCrie, McGraw, McCreagh, McCraith and McGragh. The Irish version MacGrath is etymologically closely related to the Scottish McCray, demonstrating the shared Celtic roots of the two peoples. In the United Kingdom, the surname remains uncommon, a fact that permits more precise tracing of individual lineages.

Records from the mid‑nineteenth century illustrate the continued use of the name in Scotland and the surrounding region. On 6 February 1864 a birth of Andrew McCray was registered at Drumquin, County Tyrone. On 29 June 1866 a birth of Agnes to Charles McCray and Agnes Brown was recorded at Lasswade, Midlothian. These entries confirm that families bearing the surname maintained a presence in both Ulster and the Lowlands during that period.

In the modern era the surname persists in English‑speaking countries around the world; it is most frequently found in Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The name's relative rarity allows genealogists to associate individuals with particular ancestral lines more readily than with more common surnames. In Scotland its historical associations include the Galloway region in the south, where estates linked to the name were recorded in medieval charters. The surname in the wider diaspora reflects the broader patterns of Scottish emigration from the eighteenth century onwards.

Thus, the surname McCree carries with it a heritage rooted in Gaelic linguistic tradition, a patronymic construction that signals descent from a notable ancestor, and a historical presence that spans the Scottish Lowlands, northern Ireland, and the wider world through modern migration.

Typical given names associated with the McCree surname

Male

• Andrew
• David
• Gary
• James
• John
• Julian
• Kevin
• Mark
• Paul
• Peter
• Philip
• Scott

Female

• Alison
• Angela
• Colette
• Dianne
• Elizabeth
• Fiona
• Helen
• Jennifer
• Katie
• Laura
• Lynda
• Nicola
• Susan
• Valerie

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 McCree in...

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Surname type: From name of parent

Origin: Celtic

Region of origin: British Isles

Country of origin: Scotland

Religion of origin: Christian

Language of origin: Gaelic

Famous people named McCree

• Logan McCree - German pornographic actor
• Nathan McCree - Video game composer
• Jimmy McCree - Scottish football player (1902 to 1984)

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.

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