This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Caradoc,' a Welsh personal name.

David Craddock, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Robert Craddoc, Somerset, 1 Edward III: ibid.

Cradock ap Howell ap Grono: Visit. Gloucestershire (Harl. Soc).

'Philip Cradock, Chancellor of St. David's, 1417': History and Ant. St. David's.

'Sir John Francis Caradoc, Lord Howden (1762-1839), general, changed his name from Cradock to Caradoc in 1820. He was the only son of John Cradock, archbishop of Dublin': Dictionary of National Biography.

Craddock is the anglicized form of the Walsh Caradawg or Caradoc (Caractacus in Latin) and it appears in Irish records fairly frequently from the thirteenth century onwards. The earliest references relate to Munster, a number of those in the fourteenth century being in Co. Kerry. At the same time, however, the name became closely associated with Co. Kildare, where the place-name Cradockstown, near Naas, perpetuates the family. It is so called in a deed dated 1319.This property passed into the hands of the Eustaces before 1560. There is also a Cradockstown in Co. Meath and a Craddockstown in Co.

Kilkenny. The latter is also called Rathcradock in deeds of 1343 and 1348. Craddocks were also found elsewhere in Ireland e.g. William Cradoc a landholder at Dundalk in 1321. In 1577 Stephen Craddock was one of the surgeons named in the charter incorporating the guild of the Blessed Mary Magdalene of Dublin which amended the barbers' charter of Henry VI. In his will, dated 1577, he is described as a barber of Dublin. Another prominent man of the name was Roger Cradock who was Bishop of Waterford from 1350 to 1363. Philip Craddock was High Sheriff of Co. Wicklow in 1682 and John Francis Craddock, formerly of Kinsale, was quartermaster-general in 1792. John Cradock, Protestant Archbishop of Dublin from 1772 till 1778, was not an Irishman; he came to Ireland as chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant and was appointed Bishop of Kilmore in 1757. His son, the first Baron Howden, was born in Dublin and was a member of “Grattan's Parliament” from 1785 to 1800 and later changed his name to Caradoc. The township of Cradock, in the Cape of Good Hope, was named after him.

(Celtic) Abounding in Love [Welsh forms Caradawc, Cradawc, Caradoc, Caradog-caradog, from carad, endearment; cariad, love] And in the council they resolved to go to Ireland, and to leave seven men as princes here [Cambria], and Caradawc, the son of Bran, as the chief ot them. —'Branwen the Daughter of Llyr’: Mabinogion, transl. Guest.

Forth came Craddockes ladye Shortlye and anon; And boldlye to the mantle Then is shee gone.—“The Boy and the Mantle:’ Percy’s Reliques.

Welsh Caradoc. Prominent in the midlands since the thirteenth Century. Places called Craddockstown are located in Cos. Meath, Kildare and Kilkenny.

SIF 42

A location name in Devon Or Cradoc, South Wales.

The Irish surname MacCarthy comes from the Gaelic MacCarthaigh. This surname originates from the first name Carthach, which means ‘loving’. As well as being the thirteenth most popular name in Ireland, it is also the most popular ‘Mac’ name. The MacCarthys have played an heroic part in Irish history throughout the ages, and are one of the leading family clans of Munster.

This simple explanation of the origin of MacCarthy omits a number of complicating but interesting variations en route. MacCarthy also means ‘son of Craddock’-a form of the name Carthach (or Carthaigh)-and an earlier form of Craddock was Caratacus. This renowned Ancient British name is perhaps more recognisable as the Welsh Caradoc. Caratacus (or Caradoc) was a famous British chieftain of the Catuvellauni, who resisted so nobly against the Romans between 37—43 AD. Finally, around 50 AD, he was captured and together with his family he was shipped to Rome in chains. Here, amongst other indignities which befell him, Caratacus had his name Latinised to Caractacus (and as such he appears in the popular song).

The name which derives most directly from Caradoc is the Welsh surname Craddock. In its early form this name appears in the 1177 Pipe Rolls for Hereford, where one Caradoc is listed.

It was over a century later that MacCarthy (or ‘son of Craddock’) began to appear. The earliest mention of this name is of one Douenald Roth’ Mackarthi in the Patent Rolls for 1285.

McCarthys have played a large part in post-war American politics. Infamous US Senator Joseph McCarthy (1908—57) captured national headlines in the early 1950s with his sensational claim that Communists had infiltrated the highest levels of government, especially the State Department. Although he never actually produced the name of one ‘card-carrying Communist’, the witch-hunt whipped up a national hysteria that destroyed many careers. McCarthy’s power finally declined after a lengthy 1954 televised hearing in which top civilians and military brass were cross-examined in front of an audience of millions. McCarthy, always a heavy drinker, finally died a broken alcoholic.

Another US Senator, Eugene McCarthy (b. 1916), made a bid for the 1968 presidential nomination against the incumbent, Lyndon B. Johnson. Though unsuccessful, he mobilised political idealism and anti-Vietnam War sentiments. As such he was influential in Johnson’s decision not to seek re-relection.

A descendant of Blarney Castle’s fifteenth-century builder, Cormac MacCarthy gave the English language a new term for slippery eloquence-‘blarney’-when he put off Queen Elizabeth I’s demands for his allegiance with ‘fair words and soft speech’.

Governing comes naturally to the MacCarthys. Sir Charles MacCarthy was Governor of the Gold Coast until he was killed in the Ashanti in 1824. MacCarthy’s Island, originally a site for freed slaves, off the West African coast is named for him. In the eighteenth century a MacCarthy was Governor of Madras, and in the nineteenth century Sir Charles Justin MacCarthy was Governor of Ceylon.

A MacCarthy-Colonel Daniel E.-was the first American soldier to set foot in France in 1917.

Geographic and urban namesakes are all but non-existent. There is one town called McCarthy in Alaska.

In Ireland with about 23,000 namesakes McCarthy is the 13th most popular surname. (In England, Scotland and Wales McCarthy is not common enough to be counted separately.) Around the world McCarthys and MacCarthys are most common in Canberra (one in 1,278 families), Sydney (one in 1,338) and Auckland (one in 1,391). In the United States there are an estimated 161,000 McCarthys and MacCarthys-in combination, making this the country’s 142nd most popular surname.