The McCaffrey surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,181 people carried this name — #4,339 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 36,100 people counted. That is up 1% from 8,078 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McCaffrey surname

Anglicized form of Northern Irish Mac Gafraidh (“son of Gafradh”), a Gaelicized form of the personal name Godfrey.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McCaffrey» (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 61 births for the McCaffrey name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 30 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Fermanagh and Tyrone.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 56
Leinster 5

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

McCaffrey was recorded 10 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1929th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 22. 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

McCaffrey in American newspapers,
1884–1885.

Newspaper page from The Democratic Leader carrying the name McCaffrey
The Democratic Leader 1885-08-30
Newspaper page from The Democratic Leader carrying the name McCaffrey
The Democratic Leader 1884-10-14
Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name McCaffrey
The Salt Lake Herald 1884-10-14

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 35,385 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McCaffrey in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

8,460 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McCaffrey. The most, 1,669, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Queensland, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 3,681
Queensland 2,475
South Australia 1,205
Victoria 823
Western Australia 206
ACT (Canberra) 37
Tasmania 19
Northern Territory 9

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

Who carried it

People named McCaffrey,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Bert McCaffrey
    Bert McCaffrey 1894–1955 · ice hockey player
  • Pete McCaffrey
    Pete McCaffrey 1938–2012 · basketball player
  • Anne McCaffrey 1926–2011 · science fiction writer
  • James McCaffrey 1958–2023 · film actor

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McCaffrey,
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 States2,018 records

2,018 records of the McCaffrey name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,395
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 164
  • Other U.S. records 459
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Thomas J. McCaffrey

    Born 1926 in Missouri. Enlisted 1944 at Jefferson Barracks, from St Louis City. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2000, buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Bernard McCaffrey

    Born 1932; from Ingham County, Michigan. U.S. Army, food service apprentice; killed in action 1950 in North Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary McCaffrey

    Arrived at New York in 1853 aboard the Joseph Walker from Liverpool, aged 18; going to relatives. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 2,018 records for McCaffrey in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia205 records

205 records of the McCaffrey name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 85
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 47
  • Other Australian records 73
  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 Margaret McCaffrey

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Westmoreland, sailing from Woolwich in 1836. Native of Down. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1840.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary McCaffrey

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Hope, aged 25; 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 Edward Matthew McCaffrey

    Gentleman of Thornbury, Victoria; died 1981.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 205 records for McCaffrey in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · 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).

Canada53 records

53 records of the McCaffrey name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 21
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 9
  • Other Canadian records 23
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Raymond Leo McCaffrey

    Buried in 1978 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 56.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record David McCaffrey

    Died 1909 in Clementsport, Annapolis, Nova Scotia.

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

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 53 records for McCaffrey in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

New Zealand7 records

7 records of the McCaffrey name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 6
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Hannah McCaffrey

    Died 1949, aged 78; buried at Sydenham 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 Daniel Joseph McCaffrey

    Died 1948, aged 85; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Effie Beatrice McCaffrey

    Died 1978, aged 61; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 7 records for McCaffrey in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough 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).

United Kingdom7 records

7 records of the McCaffrey name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. McCaffrey

    Royal Engineers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. McCaffrey

    Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. McCaffrey

    Irish Guards. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 7 records for McCaffrey in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McCaffrey.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McCaffrey 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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