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

McGaskey, 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 McGaskey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McGaskey in America

McGaskey is the 97671st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McGaskey surname appeared 186 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname McGaskey.

We can also compare 2010 data for McGaskey 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 McGaskey

The surname McGaskey is of Irish origin, originating from the Gaelic Mac Oisdealbhaigh or Mac Oisdealbhaigh, which means "son of Oisdealbhach". Oisdealbhach was a personal name derived from the Gaelic words "os" meaning "deer" and "dealbhach" meaning "like" or "resembling". This suggests that an ancestor may have had physical characteristics resembling a deer.

The name first appeared in County Mayo, Ireland, in the 13th century. There are records of the McGaskeys being a prominent family in the Barony of Erris in County Mayo during the medieval period. The name is also found in various ancient manuscripts and records from the region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a Domhnall Mac Oisdealbhaigh who died in 1330. Another early reference is in the Annals of Loch Cé, which mentions a Tadhg Mac Oisdealbhaigh in 1398.

Over time, the spelling of the name evolved to its modern form of McGaskey. In the 16th and 17th centuries, variations such as McGaskin, McGaskyn, and McGasken were also common.

Notable individuals with the surname McGaskey include:

1. Christopher McGaskey (1598-1675), an Irish priest and philosopher who studied at the University of Paris.
2. Seán McGaskey (1725-1798), an Irish poet and storyteller from County Mayo, known for his works in the Irish language.
3. Mary McGaskey (1830-1905), an Irish immigrant to the United States who became a prominent activist for women's rights and social reform.
4. Thomas McGaskey (1867-1942), an Irish-American politician who served as the Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1916 to 1920.
5. John McGaskey (1910-1987), an American actor and writer best known for his roles in several western films in the 1940s and 1950s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McGaskey

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

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 McGaskey 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 McGaskey 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 McGaskey was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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