The McCafferty surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,147 people carried this name — #6,579 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,500 people counted. That is up 1% from 5,092 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McCafferty surname

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Eachmharcaigh (“son of Eachmharcach”), a personal name composed of the elements each (“horse”) + marcach (“rider, knight”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McCafferty» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 25 births for the McCafferty name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,100 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “14 in Donegal, 7 in Londonderry, and 4 in Antrim.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 25

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Scotland’s registers today

McCafferty was recorded 65 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 407th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 102. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

McCafferty in American newspapers,
1908–1912.

Newspaper page from The Pacific Commercial Advertiser carrying the name McCafferty
The Pacific Commercial Advertiser 1908-09-10
Newspaper page from The Evening Standard carrying the name McCafferty
The Evening Standard 1912-05-17
Newspaper page from The Evening Standard carrying the name McCafferty
The Evening Standard 1912-05-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 23,032 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McCafferty in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1990s.

2,671 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCafferty. The most, 624, date from the 1950s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 1,425
New South Wales 672
Western Australia 334
Victoria 123
South Australia 45
Tasmania 40
ACT (Canberra) 28

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCafferty.

Who carried it

People named McCafferty,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Dan McCafferty 1946–2022 · rock singer
  • Nell McCafferty 1944–2024 · women's rights activist
  • Don McCafferty 1921–1974 · American football coach
  • Bill McCafferty 1882–1929 · association football player
  • Jim McCafferty 1900–1981 · association football player
  • John Edgar McCafferty 1920–1980 · Catholic bishop

Wikidata (CC0).

In the public record

People named McCafferty,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,060 records

1,060 records of the McCafferty name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 281
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 272
  • Other U.S. records 507
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James McCafferty

    Born 1906 in Irish Free State. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island, New York; porter. U.S. Army veteran; died 1974, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary McCafferty

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the City of Berlin from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 25; servant. From Dublin, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Michael Lester McCafferty

    Born 1947; from Lynn, Massachusetts. U.S. Army, aircraft maintenance apprentice; killed in action 1968 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,060 records for McCafferty in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia204 records

204 records of the McCafferty name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 87
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 46
  • Other Australian records 71
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record William McCafferty

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Roslyn Castle, arriving 1833; certificate of freedom 1841.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Eliza McCafferty

    Arrived in Victoria in 1856 aboard the Eagle, aged 30; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William McCafferty

    Publican of Ballarat, Victoria; died 1877.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 204 records for McCafferty in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

United Kingdom23 records

23 records of the McCafferty name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 18
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary McCafferty

    Died 1983, aged 72; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ellen M. McCafferty

    Buried in 1963 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 72.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. McCafferty

    Labour Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 23 records for McCafferty in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Canada17 records

17 records of the McCafferty name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 6
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 5
  • Other Canadian records 6
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Lilian Elizabeth McCafferty

    Died 1931; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record William McCafferty

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Daniel McCafferty

    Married 1888 in Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 17 records for McCafferty in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

New Zealand3 records

3 records of the McCafferty name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 2
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James McCafferty

    Died 1880, aged 45; buried at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Eliza Jane McCafferty

    Died 1912, aged 22; buried at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for McCafferty in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McCafferty.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McCafferty is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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