MCNULTY
Recorded variant spellings include Mc Nulty, Mcnulty
McNulty is a surname of Irish provenance, deriving from the Gaelic Mac an Ultaigh, which translates literally as “son of the Ulsterman.” As a patronymic name, it denotes descent from a male progenitor who identified with the region of Ulster.
Historically, the surname has been associated predominantly with the north-west region of County Donegal in Ulster, an area historically regarded as the most country folk and strongly Gaelic in character. The earliest surviving record of the name is that of Teag MacNulty, who appears among the “distinguished slain’’ in the Battle of Desertcreagh in 1281.
Subsequent chronicling confirms the name’s presence in County Donegal during the late fifteenth century. In 1431 the Annals of the Four Masters record a predatory expedition carried out by the O’Donnells against the Mac Nultys of Tirhugh, an event that emphasises the family’s recognized standing in the region.
Over the ensuing centuries the spelling of the surname has varied. It is recorded in a number of forms, including MacNulty, MacAnulty, McAnalty, McConnulty and McInility. These variations illustrate the oral transmission of the name and the common practice of modifying orthography in Irish manuscripts.
In ecclesiastical documents the name appears further. Patricium McAnulty was christened on 15 December 1758 in the parish of Drogheda, County Louth, a detail that demonstrates the spread of the surname beyond its Donegal stronghold. Another record from the period of the Great Famine notes Mary McCinnulty, a famine emigrant, who left Ireland on the ship Yorkshire on 15 September 1846.
The emigration of bearers of the name took the family overseas. At the turn of the twentieth century, Frank Joseph Mac Nulty (1872–1926) became a prominent American labour leader. His father, Owen MacNulty, is recorded as a veteran of the American Civil War, indicating that the family had already established roots in the United States by the mid-nineteenth century.
The surname McNulty remains a clear example of a Gaelic patronymic name that survived the erosion of the traditional clan system. Its continuity from medieval battlefields through seventeenth‑century parish registers to twentieth‑century labour movements underscores both its enduring identity and the broader pattern of Irish migration and cultural persistence across the Atlantic.
Typical given names associated with the McNulty surname
Male
- Anthony
- David
- James
- John
- Michael
- Patrick
- Paul
- Peter
- Stephen
- Thomas
Female
- Ann
- Anne
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Helen
- Karen
- Margaret
- Mary
- Michelle
- Patricia
- Sarah
- 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 McNulty in...
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There are approximately 6,452 people named McNulty in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,468th most common surname in Britain. Around 99 in a million people in Britain are named McNulty.
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 McNulty
- Matthew McNulty - Actor
- Marc McNulty - Scottish football player
- Steve McNulty - Football player
- Tony McNulty - Politician
- Justin McNulty - Gaelic football player and manager
- Jimmy McNulty - Football player
- Thomas McNulty - Football player (1929 to 1)
- Tony McNulty - Football player
- Helen McNulty - Artist
- Josh McNulty - Rugby union player
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.