Surname McCaulley - Meaning and Origin
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McCaulley: What does the surname McCaulley mean?
The last name McCaulley is of Irish origin and it is derived from the Gaelic Mac Amhalghaidh, where 'mac' means son and 'Amhalghaidh' is a personal name. This personal name means 'the son of the prince'. Over time, the pronunciation and spelling of the name have been anglicized to its current form. Like most surnames, McCaulley was originally a patronymic surname, which indicated lineage or filial relationship, specifically denoting "son of Amhalghaidh". As with many Irish surnames, multiple variations in spelling are common including McCauley, McCawley, MacAuley, and others.
Order DNA origin analysisMcCaulley: Where does the name McCaulley come from?
The surname McCaulley is of Scottish and Northern Irish origin. It is a variant of McCauley. The name McCauley comes from the Gaelic MacAmhalghaidh, which means 'son of Amhalghadh'. It has its roots in the region of Argyll and Bute on the west coast of Scotland and in the Irish county of Donegal.
In the historical contexts, many Scottish and Irish surnames were created from the names of ancestral clans or from the personal names of the clan chiefs. The McCaulleys are believed to descend from an ancient Scottish tribe called the Dalriadans, who migrated from the western coast of Scotland, settling in what is now Northern Ireland.
Today, McCaulley is most common in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United States, the surname is most prevalent in the states of Pennsylvania, Texas and California. It is also fairly common in Australia and New Zealand. However, despite the diaspora, you can still find a significant number of McCaulleys in the lands of their origin, i.e. Scotland and Ireland.
Variations of the surname McCaulley
McCaulley can be spelled in multiple variants including McCauley, McCauly, McCaully, MacAulay, MacCaulay, Macauley, McCawley, McAwley, Macawley, Mccalley, and McCully. One similar surname is "McAuliffe" coming from the same Gaelic tradition, although it has a slightly different origin.
These names are of Irish and Scottish origins and were originally derived from the personal name, Amhalghadh or Amhalaidh. In particular, MacAulay is a well-known anglicised form of a number of Gaelic patronymic names like MacAmhalghaidh. Mac denoted "son" and the name Amhalghadh meaning "Relic of the Prince". However, it’s also important to note that there can be unrelated collections of people bearing these surnames due to various factors such as Geographic distribution and language transition.
The complexities of researching names is compounded in regions like Irish and Scots Gaelic areas due to various sociocultural and historical factors, including shifting patronymic naming conventions, immigration, anglicization, and other influences. Therefore, when tracing genealogy, it's often necessary to consider various possible spellings and origins.
Famous people with the name McCaulley
- Macklemore (American rapper, songwriter, and record producer, born Ben Haggerty)
- Melissa McCarthy (American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and fashion designer)
- Michael McCaul (U.S. Representative from Texas)
- Henry McCollum (American wrongfully convicted death row inmate from North Carolina)
- Emily Esfahani Smith (American journalist and author)
- Ally McCoist (Scottish football player, manager and sportscaster)
- Iain McColl (Scottish actor and playwright)
- Richard McCaul (Australian politician)
- Sharon McCaul (Irish singer)
- Will McCaul (Irish rugby union player)