Find out how popular the last name McGarry is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named McGarry.

McGarry, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the McGarry surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McGarry in America

McGarry is the 5026th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McGarry surname appeared 6,982 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname McGarry.

We can also compare 2010 data for McGarry to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name McGarry

The surname McGarry originated in Ireland and is derived from the Irish Gaelic name MacGaradha, which means "son of Garaidh". Garaidh was a personal name that came from the Old Irish word gár, meaning "near" or "close".

The McGarry name can be traced back to the 11th century in County Fermanagh, Ulster Province, where it was first recorded as MacGaraidhe. The family was part of the ancient Gaelic clans that inhabited the region.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name McGarry appears in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, dating back to the year 1131. The entry refers to Mael Mhuire Mac Garadha, who was described as a notable cleric.

In the 16th century, the McGarry surname was found in various parts of Ireland, including Counties Fermanagh, Cavan, and Monaghan. Historical records from this period show variations in the spelling, such as McGarry, McGarrey, and McGarray.

Notable individuals with the surname McGarry include:

1. Sir John McGarry (1730-1801), an Irish-born soldier who served in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War.
2. Patrick McGarry (1808-1891), an Irish-born Catholic priest and educational advocate who founded several schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
3. Nicol Williamson McGarry (1835-1913), a Scottish-born politician and journalist who served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons.
4. William McGarry (1865-1940), an Australian politician and the 16th Premier of New South Wales from 1920 to 1921.
5. Francis Patrick McGarry (1867-1936), an Irish-born prelate who served as the Bishop of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA, from 1910 to 1936.

The McGarry name has also been associated with several place names in Ireland, such as McGarry's Cross in County Fermanagh and McGarry's Hill in County Monaghan, reflecting the historical presence of the family in these areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McGarry

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname McGarry.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for McGarry was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of McGarry has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name McGarry was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of McGarry, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!