McCrary
A Scottish and Irish surname that likely began as a patronymic, meaning “son of Crary” or a similar Gaelic personal name.
The #2,937 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 25,299 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McCrary is an Anglicized surname built on the Gaelic prefix Mac or Mc, meaning “son of,” joined to a personal name that has been recorded in forms such as Crary, Creary, or MacRory-like variants. The final element is usually taken to represent an older Gaelic given name, but its exact source is not always certain because spelling varied widely as names were Anglicized. In practice, the surname is best understood as a patronymic derived from a Gaelic ancestor’s name rather than from a common noun.
History
The name is found in both Scottish and Irish contexts, especially among families whose surnames were reshaped in English spelling over time. In North America, McCrary became established through later immigration and internal movement, with the spelling often settling alongside related forms such as McCreary and McCrory. Because Gaelic surnames were frequently standardized in multiple ways, modern bearers may share a broad origin even when spellings differ.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
McCrary and McCreary are close spelling cousins, and in old records the same family line could appear under more than one form.