McGinley
An Irish surname usually understood as meaning “son of the fair-haired one” or a related Gaelic byname.
The #5,112 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 45,066 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McGinley is an Anglicized Irish surname built on Mac, meaning “son of,” plus a Gaelic personal or descriptive name behind Ginley. It is commonly linked to an older Gaelic form referring to a fair-haired or blond person, though the exact original form can be given in more than one way in older scholarship. In plain English, the name is usually taken to mean “son of the fair one” or “son of the fair-haired man.”
History
The surname is especially associated with Ulster, particularly County Donegal, and it is one of the Irish names that remained strongly local before later diaspora spread it more widely. Historical surname indexes from the 19th century place McGinley among the established Irish family names, and it remains most common in Irish-descended communities in Britain, Ireland, and the United States. In modern records it is usually treated as an Irish Gaelic surname, often from a Donegal family group.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Donegal surnames often cluster in a few counties, and McGinley is one of the names strongly tied to that northwest Irish heartland.
From the historical record
“Gallagher 196, Doherty 160, Boyle 102, O'Donnell 102, McLaughlin 81, Sweenev 50 Ward 40, Kelly 37, McGinley 37, McFadden 33, McGowan 33 Duffv 29* Campbell 28. > J z Thompson 55, Smith 53, Campbell 45, Patterson 41, Martin 35, Wilson 35 ^^t^f i^'J^^""^"".. li' ^"'^^^ ^^' ^™^^ 21' Robinson 29, Hamilton 28,'”
— Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (numerical strength, derivation, distribution)