McEntire
An Irish and Scottish surname from Mac an tSaoir, meaning “son of the carpenter” or “son of the craftsman.”
The #8,042 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 75,029 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McEntire is a modern Anglicized form of a Gaelic surname built from mac, meaning “son,” plus an occupational word for “carpenter” or “craftsman.” The Irish form is usually connected with Mac an tSaoir, literally “son of the carpenter,” and related spellings include MacIntyre, MacTear, and MacTeer. The surname therefore began as a descriptive patronymic rather than a place-name.
History
The name appears in older records in a range of spellings, which reflects the difficulty of rendering Gaelic sounds in English and Scots spelling. Historical forms cited in Manx and Irish materials include variants such as M'Teare, MacTere, and Teare, showing the same underlying family-name pattern. In America, McEntire is one of several standardized spellings that developed from these older Anglicized forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The source excerpt groups McEntire with MacIntyre and MacTeer, showing how one Gaelic surname could branch into many different English spellings over time.
From the historical record
“Compare (Gaelic) MacIntyre, MacTier, (Irish) MacEntire, Macateer, Mateer, Teer, Tier. Mactyr [1372],^ M'Teare, M'Terre [1504], MacTere [1511], Teare [1599], Tear [1611], Tere [1688]. The curious name, MacTereboy, found in 1511,”
— The Surnames & Place-Names of the Isle of Man