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

McGinley, 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 McGinley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McGinley in America

McGinley is the 5112th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McGinley surname appeared 6,851 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 McGinley.

We can also compare 2010 data for McGinley 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 McGinley

The surname McGinley is of Irish origin, originating from the Gaelic name Mac Gionnlaidh, which means "son of the servant of St Finlay." It is believed to have originated in the 10th or 11th century in County Donegal, Ireland.

The name is derived from the Irish Gaelic personal name Gionnlaidh, which is a variant of the name Finlay or Fingal. This name was quite common in Ireland during the Middle Ages and was often given to children who were born on St. Finlay's feast day.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a "MacGinnlaidh" in the year 1173. The name also appears in various other medieval Irish manuscripts and records, such as the Annals of the Four Masters and the Annals of Connacht.

The McGinley surname is particularly associated with the Donegal area of Ireland, where it is believed to have originated. The name is also found in other parts of Ireland, such as Counties Tyrone and Derry, where it is believed to have spread through migration.

Notable individuals with the surname McGinley throughout history include:

1. Brian McGinley (c. 1480 - c. 1550), an Irish nobleman and chieftain of the McGinley clan in Donegal.
2. Rory McGinley (c. 1520 - c. 1595), an Irish poet and bard who composed works in the Irish language.
3. Niall McGinley (1768 - 1854), an Irish rebel who participated in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 against British rule.
4. Patrick McGinley (1819 - 1895), an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the McGinley Coal Company in Pennsylvania.
5. John McGinley (1871 - 1939), an Irish-American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois.

The surname McGinley is also associated with various place names in Ireland, such as McGinley's Brae in County Donegal, which is believed to have been named after a member of the McGinley clan.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McGinley

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

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

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

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