The McGough surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,150 people carried this name — #6,574 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,100 people counted. That is up 4% from 4,967 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the McGough surname

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Eochadha.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McGough» (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 11 births for the McGough name in 1890.

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

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

Where they were born, 1890

Connacht 8
Leinster 2
Ulster 1

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

In print

McGough in American newspapers,
1894–1896.

Newspaper page from Pullman Herald carrying the name McGough
Pullman Herald 1896-01-11
Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name McGough
New-york Tribune 1894-06-24
Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name McGough
The Salt Lake Herald 1896-01-06

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 8,040 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McGough in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1980s.

2,641 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McGough. The most, 548, 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 Tasmania, at 8.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Tasmania 1,283
Western Australia 515
Victoria 386
South Australia 299
New South Wales 85
Queensland 64
ACT (Canberra) 9

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

Who carried it

People named McGough,
with a public archive behind them.

  • David Christopher McGough 1944–2023 · theologian
  • John McGough 1881–1967 · athletics competitor
  • Richard McGough 1892–1917 · association football player
  • John F. McGough 1883–1962 · basketball coach

Wikidata (CC0).

In the public record

People named McGough,
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 States543 records

543 records of the McGough name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 290
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 87
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 47
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 44
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 40
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 30
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 5
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Stephen J. McGough

    Born 1912 in Rhode Island. Enlisted 1942 at Providence; clerk from Providence County.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Catherine McGough

    Arrived at New York in 1850 aboard the Riverdale from Liverpool, aged 18; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Bobby L. McGough

    U.S. Army veteran. Born 1942, died 1993; buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 543 records for McGough 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. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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, WWII Army Enlistment Records (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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia193 records

193 records of the McGough name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 84
  • Tasmanian Names Index 74
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 20
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 8
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 6
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Henry McGough

    Died 1896 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 45. Will registered in Tasmania in 1897.

    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 Hannah Coburg Wilma McGough

    Born 1876 in Oatlands, Tasmania. Married 1898 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 21.

    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 Mary McGough

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Roslyn Castle, arriving 1836; certificate of freedom 1841.

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

Showing 3 of 193 records for McGough 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).

Ireland10 records

10 records of the McGough 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 McGough

    Died 1934, aged 72; buried at Cortoon, 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 Norah McGough

    Died 1954; buried at Lackagh (Old), 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 Bridget McGough

    Died 1876, aged 23; buried at Cortoon, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 10 records for McGough 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).

New Zealand7 records

7 records of the McGough name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Francis McGough

    Died 1913, aged 23; buried at Linwood 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 Mary McGough

    Died 1930, aged 73; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry McGough

    Died 1964, aged 79; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 7 records for McGough in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City 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).

Canada4 records

4 records of the McGough name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Nancy Marie McGough

    Died 1940 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia.

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

    Buried in 1953 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  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 Henry John McGough

    Died in service in 1922.

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

Showing 3 of 4 records for McGough 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. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); 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).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the McGough name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  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. McGough

    Bedfordshire Regiment. 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. McGough

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

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

Showing 2 of 3 records for McGough in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. 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 McGough.

When the index is not enough

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