McClary
A surname most often explained as a Gaelic-name variant related to MacCleary or MacLary, likely meaning “son of the clear one” or another Anglicized Irish-Gaelic form.
The #5,713 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 50,864 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McClary is usually treated as an Anglicized form of an Irish Gaelic surname in the Mac- family, often grouped with MacCleary, MacClary, MacLary, and related spellings. These forms likely reflect a Gaelic personal name or nickname built on a word meaning “clear” or “bright,” though older surname books do not always agree on the exact original Gaelic form. In practice, McClary is best understood as a later English spelling of a Gaelic patronymic surname.
History
Older surname references group McClary with a wide cluster of Irish spellings such as MacAlary, MacCleary, MacLeary, and Cleary, showing that the name was already unstable in English transcription by the 19th century. The surname appears in English-language records by the 18th century and is especially associated with Irish surname traditions in later usage. In the United States, McClary has remained a relatively uncommon surname but is well established in Irish-descended family lines.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname writers often shelved McClary together with Cleary and a surprising tangle of Mac- forms, which is a good reminder that Irish surnames were often spelled many different ways in English records.
From the historical record
“1766 Married— John Norriss and Blary McClary : St. Geo. Han. Sq. L 158. London, 65, a, a; Philadelphia, 98, o, a None.— Local, 'the Noreis,' the Norseman (v. Norris) ; cf. Morse”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)