The McGinley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,851 people carried this name — #5,112 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 43,100 people counted. That is up 6% from 6,435 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the McGinley surname

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Fhionnghaile (“son of Fionnghal”), a personal name composed of the elements fionn (“fair”) + gal (“valor”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McGinley» (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 47 births for the McGinley name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,100 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 2 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “37 in Donegal.”

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 46
Connacht 1

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

McGinley was recorded 48 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 544th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 57. 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

McGinley in American newspapers,
1891–1908.

Newspaper page from Mineral Point Tribune carrying the name McGinley
Mineral Point Tribune 1908-09-03
Newspaper page from Iowa County Democrat carrying the name McGinley
Iowa County Democrat 1908-09-03
Newspaper page from The Sedalia Weekly Bazoo carrying the name McGinley
The Sedalia Weekly Bazoo 1891-02-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 17,051 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McGinley in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

3,147 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McGinley. The most, 1,365, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 973
New South Wales 921
Victoria 742
South Australia 239
Western Australia 165
Tasmania 67
ACT (Canberra) 15
Northern Territory 8

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

Who carried it

People named McGinley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Donald McGinley
    Donald McGinley 1920–2005 · politician
  • Phyllis McGinley 1905–1978 · children's writer
  • Joseph McGinley 1894–1974 · politician

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

In the public record

People named McGinley,
in the records of 4 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 States876 records

876 records of the McGinley name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 529
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 94
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 93
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 77
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 42
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 32
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  • Ramsey County (Minnesota) Memorial Hall, war dead 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Margt McGinley

    Arrived at New York in 1834 aboard the Herald from Liverpool, aged 30; servant. From West Meath, Ireland; bound for New York.

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

    Born 1928; from Rupert, Idaho. U.S. Army, cannon crewmember; died of illness 1968 in Binh Dinh, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John P. McGinley

    Born 1925 in Nebraska. Enlisted 1944 at Denver, Colorado; farm hand from Garden County.

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

Showing 3 of 876 records for McGinley in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia149 records

149 records of the McGinley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 52
  • Tasmanian Names Index 35
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 27
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 18
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 13
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 4
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Walter McGinley

    Died 1917 in France, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1918.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Sarah McGinley

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850. Married 1850 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. 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 James McGinley

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Sophia; certificate of freedom 1867.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 149 records for McGinley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada10 records

10 records of the McGinley name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 3
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 2
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Maggie McGinley

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Brooklyn, landing at Quebec, bound for Thorold, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Harris Addy McGinley

    Died 1952; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Patrick McGinley

    Died 1914 in Amherst, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 10 records for McGinley in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · 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); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the McGinley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • Stirling Council burial records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William McGinley

    Died 1982, aged 65; buried at Aberfoyle Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    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. McGinley

    Jal Garrison Artillery. 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 F. McGinley

    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)

Showing 3 of 4 records for McGinley 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McGinley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McGinley 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 McGinley volume
Scroll to Top