McGilloway Surname

606,498th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 511 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Northern Ireland
Highest density in:
Northern Ireland

McGilloway Surname Definition:

MACGILLEWIE: Gaelic Mac Ghille dhuibh, 'son of the black lad.' Macgilleweys are believed to have once held East Allanaquoich and Inverey, and in the middle of the seventeenth century the name is the commonest in the district. They considered themselves to be Lamonts, and in the eighteenth century dropped the name Macgillewey and called themselves Lamont.

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McGilloway Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Northern Ireland3531:5,227984
United States2971:1,220,40086,581
England1501:371,45426,286
Ireland1271:37,0783,016
Wales221:140,66110,115
Canada211:1,754,552114,935
Scotland201:267,69112,985
Australia101:2,699,570109,631
Thailand51:14,127,669603,945
France31:22,140,907385,998
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland1441:30,7633,077
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England61:4,062,562101,150
Scotland11:3,743,21632,299
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States221:2,282,667111,005

McGilloway Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

MACGILLEWIE: Gaelic Mac Ghille dhuibh, 'son of the black lad.' Macgilleweys are believed to have once held East Allanaquoich and Inverey, and in the middle of the seventeenth century the name is the commonest in the district. They considered themselves to be Lamonts, and in the eighteenth century dropped the name Macgillewey and called themselves Lamont. Sir James Lamont in his "Declaration of the true extraction of the Macllldowies alias Lamont," dated 1661, says that "John MacIlldowie in Castleton in the Brae of Mar and all the Macllldowies are my true native kindly people and kinsmen." Elsewhere in the Declaration he spells the name Macllzegowie, MacGilligowie, MacGilledow, Macllzegui. Whether this relationship is imaginary, or how representatives of this west country clan found their way to the heart of the Grampians is unknown (Stirton, Crathie, p. 416). John M'Gillizvie appears in Crathie, 1633 (SCM., III, p. 139), and John Laman alias McGillivi was godfather to a child in Castletoune of Braemar, 1710 (Stilton, Crathie, p. 310). John Makgillewie and Malcolm Makgillewe were tenants under the bishop of Aberdeen, 1511 (REA., I, p. 368). The first recorded burgess of Inverness is Donald McGillewe, who is in record, 1521 (TGSI., XXVIII, p. 230), and John Makgillevye, bailie of the same burgh in 1546 (RMS., III, 3233), appears again in 1556-57 as McGillewe, Mcllleve and McGilliwie (Rec. Inv.). Forms of the name in Glenurquhay are Macgillewie (1586) and M'lllewie (1638) (BBT.). Donald Monech McGilligowy and Johnne Monech his son, servitor to the provost of Kilmun, were charged in 1596 with violence to Dame Jeane, Lady of Ardkinglas (RPC., V, p. 322). Finlay McGilliewie in Correbroch refused instruction in his craft of tanning, 1621 (RPC., XII, p. 491). M'Gillewie is now a rare name in Perthshire, and the bearers of it there are believed locally to be descended from the only survivor of the Macnishes of Loch Earn slain by the Macnabs in the beginning of the seventeenth century. M'Gilavie, M'Gilevie, and M'Gilvie in 1696. In Inverness other old spellings are: McGilewe, M'Gillewye, MacGilliue, Mcllewt, MacYelewe (Rec. Inv.). In Edinburgh, 1942. See also Macildowie, Maclldue, and Macilghuie.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

This is another form of MacElwee, q.v

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

McGilloway Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name McGilloway Come From? nationality or country of origin

McGilloway has its highest incidence in Northern Ireland. It can also occur as a variant:. Click here to see other potential spellings of McGilloway.

How Common Is The Last Name McGilloway? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 606,498th most common surname worldwide. It is borne by approximately 1 in 14,261,342 people. It is mostly found in Europe, where 132 percent of McGilloway live; 132 percent live in Northern Europe and 132 percent live in British Isles.

The surname McGilloway is most widely held in Northern Ireland, where it is held by 353 people, or 1 in 5,227. Aside from Northern Ireland it is found in 11 countries. It is also found in The United States, where 58 percent are found and England, where 29 percent are found.

McGilloway Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of McGilloway has changed over time. In The United States the number of people carrying the McGilloway last name rose 1,350 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it rose 2,500 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Ireland it decreased 12 percent between 1901 and 2014 and in Scotland it rose 2,000 percent between 1881 and 2014.

McGilloway Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the McGilloway last name is chiefly Catholic (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the McGilloway last name are 3.53% more likely to be registered with the Democratic Party than the national average, with 56.76% being registered to vote for the political party.

The amount McGilloway earn in different countries varies somewhat. In United States they earn 8.74% more than the national average, earning $46,922 USD per year and in Canada they earn 0.26% more than the national average, earning $49,814 CAD per year.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to McGilloway
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis