The McClary surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,070 people carried this name — #5,713 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 48,500 people counted. That is up 8% from 5,622 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the McClary surname

Variant of McCleary.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, McClary was counted together with McCleary: 63 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 328 people lived in those households, 5.3 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McCleary, McClarey, McClary, McLarry, McLary, MaClayry, McClearey, McCleery, McClery, McLeary, Mcliry. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 27
New Hampshire 9
Maryland 6
Massachusetts 5
North Carolina 5
New York 4
South Carolina 4
Maine 2
Virginia 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 252 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McClary in American newspapers,
1902–1929.

Newspaper page from The Washington Daily News carrying the name McClary
The Washington Daily News 1929-06-21
Newspaper page from Baxter Springs News carrying the name McClary
Baxter Springs News 1902-09-06
Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name McClary
The Washington Times 1929-06-21

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 19,020 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McClary in Australian newspapers,
1910s–1950s.

38 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McClary. The most, 9, date from the 1940s.

Articles, by state

Queensland 18
New South Wales 11
Victoria 4
South Australia 2
ACT (Canberra) 1
Tasmania 1
Western Australia 1

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

Who carried it

People named McClary,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Andrew McClary
    Andrew McClary 1730–1775 · soldier
  • Charles McClary 1833–1904 · farmer
  • William McClary 1784–1855
  • Alice F. McClary Stevens 1858– · scientific collector

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

In the public record

People named McClary,
in the records of 3 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 States441 records

441 records of the McClary name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 177
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 93
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 48
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 32
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 31
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 29
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 28
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Harry D. McClary

    Born 1921 in Virginia. Enlisted 1942 at Charlottesville; lumberman from Orange County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1959, buried at Richmond National Cemetery, Virginia.

    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 Samuel Donald McClary

    Born 1947; from Kingstree, South Carolina. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    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 Fannie McClary

    Arrived at Philadelphia in 1876 aboard the Pennsylvania from Liverpool, aged 20; servant. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 441 records for McClary in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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); 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).

Canada52 records

52 records of the McClary name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 36
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 10
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 4
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Annie McClary

    Buried in 1963 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 51.

    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 Roy Stanley McClary

    Died 1946 in River Hebert, Cumberland, 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 John Charles McClary

    Died in service in 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 52 records for McClary in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. 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).

Australia9 records

9 records of the McClary name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 8
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas McClary

    Arrived in Victoria in 1859 aboard the Black Eagle, aged 20; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 James McClary

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Asia, aged 43.

    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 Arthur McClary

    Will registered in Tasmania in 1962.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 9 records for McClary in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McClary.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McClary 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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