The McGarry surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,982 people carried this name — #5,026 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 42,200 people counted. That is up 1% from 6,907 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McGarry surname

Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic Mac Fhearadhaigh (“son of Fhearadhach”), a personal name meaning "strong", "brave", from fear (“man”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McGarry» (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 79 births for the McGarry name in 1890.

Most were registered in Connacht. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 3,500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 15 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Connacht 29
Ulster 29
Leinster 21

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

McGarry was recorded 37 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 684th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 58. 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

McGarry in American newspapers,
1901–1902.

Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name McGarry
The Salt Lake Herald 1901-11-24
Newspaper page from The Telegraph-courier carrying the name McGarry
The Telegraph-courier 1902-05-01
Newspaper page from The Butte Inter Mountain carrying the name McGarry
The Butte Inter Mountain 1901-09-21

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

McGarry in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

11,675 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McGarry. The most, 3,485, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 6,706
Western Australia 1,757
Queensland 1,458
Tasmania 746
Victoria 603
South Australia 337
ACT (Canberra) 40
Northern Territory 7

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

Who carried it

People named McGarry,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Bill McGarry 1927–2005 · association football player

Wikidata (CC0).

In the public record

People named McGarry,
in the records of 6 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 States1,674 records

1,674 records of the McGarry name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,038
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 176
  • Other U.S. records 460
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Jeremiah D. McGarry

    Born 1944; from Stillwater, Minnesota. U.S. Army, helicopter pilot; died in an accident 1967 in Kontum, South Vietnam.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1835 aboard the Euphrates from Londonderry, aged 25; servant. From Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Roger J. McGarry

    Born 1911 in New York. Enlisted 1941 at Albany; office clerk from Albany County.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,674 records for McGarry 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) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia303 records

303 records of the McGarry name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 89
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 83
  • Other Australian records 131
  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 Bridget McGarry

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Almorah, arriving 1824; certificate of freedom 1830.

    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 Bernard McGarry

    Arrived in Victoria in 1855 aboard the Lightning, aged 40; Irish.

    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 Gregory T. McGarry

    Farmer of Nyarrin, Victoria; died 1972.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 303 records for McGarry in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). 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).

Canada58 records

58 records of the McGarry name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 32
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 10
  • Other Canadian records 16
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jno McGarry

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Corinthian, bound for Parry Sound, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record James McGarry

    Died 1913 in Margaree Forks, Inverness, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Peter McGarry

    Buried in 1902 at Drummond Hill Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

    City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls.

Showing 3 of 58 records for McGarry 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 Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom35 records

35 records of the McGarry name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 22
  • Stirling Council burial records 13
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Jolly McGarry

    Buried in 1956 at Drymen Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 71.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  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. McGarry

    Seaforth Highlanders. 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 page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary McGarry

    Died 1944, aged 21; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 35 records for McGarry in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. 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).

New Zealand22 records

22 records of the McGarry name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 21
  • Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Patricia Ann McGarry

    Died 1936, aged 43; buried at Waimairi 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 William George McGarry

    Died 1934; buried at Kaiapoi Anglican Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Annie Theresa McGarry

    Died 1965, aged 86; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 22 records for McGarry in New Zealand.

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

Ireland5 records

5 records of the McGarry name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Michael Francis McGarry

    Died 1964, aged 84; buried at Dunmore, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John F. McGarry

    Died 1978; buried at Dunmore, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Paul McGarry

    Died 1983; buried at Dunmore, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5 records for McGarry in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County 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 McGarry.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McGarry 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.

See the McGarry volume
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