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

McGillicuddy, 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 McGillicuddy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McGillicuddy in America

McGillicuddy is the 23414th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McGillicuddy surname appeared 1,086 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 McGillicuddy.

We can also compare 2010 data for McGillicuddy 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 McGillicuddy

The surname McGillicuddy is of Irish origin, specifically from County Kerry in the southwest of Ireland. It is derived from the Gaelic name "Mac Gille Cuddy," which means "son of the servant of St. Cuddy." St. Cuddy was an Irish saint who lived in the 6th century and was known for his work as a missionary in the region.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 16th century, with references to individuals named McGillicuddy appearing in various records and manuscripts from County Kerry. One notable example is the mention of a Dermot McGillicuddy in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century.

The name McGillicuddy has also been associated with several place names in County Kerry, such as Ballymacgillycuddy and Carrigillicuddy, which are believed to have been named after individuals or families bearing the surname.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname McGillicuddy. One of the earliest was Rory McGillicuddy (c. 1540-1602), a chieftain of the McGillicuddy clan in County Kerry during the 16th century. Another prominent figure was Denis McGillicuddy (1753-1809), an Irish Catholic priest who played a significant role in the establishment of the Seminary of St. Patrick in Maynooth, Ireland.

In the 19th century, John McGillicuddy (1824-1892) was a prominent businessman and landowner in County Kerry, while his brother, Daniel McGillicuddy (1832-1915), was a Member of Parliament for Cork City from 1880 to 1885. Additionally, Richard McGillicuddy (1854-1928) was a successful American businessman who founded the McGillicuddy Conglomerate Company, a major mining and industrial corporation in the early 20th century.

The name McGillicuddy has also been found in various historical records and manuscripts from other parts of Ireland, as well as in other countries with Irish diaspora populations, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia. However, its roots and strongest associations remain firmly linked to County Kerry and the southwestern region of Ireland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McGillicuddy

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of McGillicuddy, 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!