McCreary History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

There are many Irish surnames being used today in forms that are quite different than their original, ancient forms. McCreary originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Ruaidhri, which means son of Rory. 1

Early Origins of the McCreary family

The surname McCreary was first found in County Tyrone (Irish:Tír Eoghain), the ancient territory of the O'Neills, now in the Province of Ulster, central Northern Ireland, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the McCreary family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McCreary research. Another 142 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1298 and 1800 are included under the topic Early McCreary History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McCreary Spelling Variations

The recording of names in Ireland during the Middle Ages was an inconsistent endeavor at best. Since the general population did not know how to read or write, they could only specify how their names should be recorded orally. Research into the name McCreary revealed spelling variations, including MacCreary, MacCreery, MacCrary, MacCrory and others.

Early Notables of the McCreary family

Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McCreary Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McCreary Ranking

In the United States, the name McCreary is the 3,857^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 2

McCreary migration to the United States +

Death and immigration greatly reduced Ireland's population in the 19th century. For the native Irish people poverty, hunger, and racial prejudice was common. Therefore, thousands left their homeland to seek opportunity in North America. Those who survived the journey and the quarantine camps to which they arrived, were instrumental towards building the strong developing nations of the United States and the future Canada. By far, the largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. These were employed as construction or factory workers. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has shown early immigrants bearing the name McCreary:

McCreary Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Mary McCreary, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1772 3
James McCreary, who arrived in America in 1795-1798 3

McCreary Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Andrew McCreary, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1830 3

Contemporary Notables of the name McCreary (post 1700) +

Aaron M. "Mac" McCreary, American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator
George Deardorff McCreary (1846-1915), American Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Judith McCreary, American TV writer and producer
Lew McCreary, American author, editor, and speaker
Lori McCreary, American motion picture producer and computer scientist
Bear McCreary (b. 1979), American classically-trained American composer and musician
James Bennett McCreary (1838-1918), lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky
Conn N. McCreary (1921-1979), United States Hall of Fame jockey and trainer
William Forsythe McCreary (1855-1904), Canadian politician, 16th Mayor of Winnipeg (1897) and Member of Parliamentfor Selkirk
William Edward McCreary Sr. (b. 1934), Canadian National Hockey League left winger, coach and general manager
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)