McNally
An Irish surname usually explained as a shortened form of an old Gaelic patronymic, with meanings tied to “son of Niall” or, less securely, another Gaelic personal name.
The #2,268 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,250 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McNally is generally treated as an Anglicized Irish surname built on Mac, meaning “son of,” plus a Gaelic personal name. In many cases it is linked to Mac an Fhailí or a related Irish form, which can be rendered in English as “son of Niall” or connected with similar personal-name elements; older writers also sometimes gave speculative analyses from other Gaelic roots. Because several Irish surnames were standardized in different spellings, McNally can reflect more than one underlying Gaelic form in different families.
History
The name is strongly associated with Ireland, especially Ulster, and appears in records in both Mac- and Mc- spellings. In emigrant countries such as the United States, the shorter McNally spelling became common and is now the usual form. Nineteenth-century surname writers frequently grouped it with other Irish Mac/Mc surnames without always agreeing on the exact Gaelic source.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older reference works sometimes treated McNally as simply an abbreviated spelling of McAnally.
From the historical record
“Mackereth, E., Esq., Ulverston. Mackereth, G., Esq., Ulverston. McNally, Rev. F. G., Windermere. Magrath, Rev. J. R., D.D., Oxford. Manchester Free Reference Library. Melville, Mullen, & Slade, Booksellers, Melbourne. (3 copies.)”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)