The McHale surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,391 people carried this name — #5,444 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 46,100 people counted. That is up 2% from 6,267 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McHale surname

Anglicized form of Irish mac céile (“son of the companion”) or, alternatively, from Irish Mac Haol (“son of Haol”), a Gaelicized form of Howell.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McHale» (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 51 births for the McHale name in 1890.

Most were registered in Connacht. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “50 in Mayo.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Connacht 50
Munster 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

McHale was recorded 13 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1564th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 24. 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

McHale in American newspapers,
1908–1916.

Newspaper page from Northern Wisconsin Advertiser carrying the name McHale
Northern Wisconsin Advertiser 1908-06-25
Newspaper page from The Telegraph-courier carrying the name McHale
The Telegraph-courier 1916-02-24
Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Tribune carrying the name McHale
The Salt Lake Tribune 1911-05-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 20,248 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McHale in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

826 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McHale. The most, 237, date from the 1950s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 3.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 444
New South Wales 222
South Australia 50
Western Australia 38
Queensland 37
Tasmania 30
ACT (Canberra) 4

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

Who carried it

People named McHale,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Evelyn McHale
    Evelyn McHale 1923–1947 · accountant
  • Marty McHale
    Marty McHale 1886–1979 · baseball player
  • John McHale 1921–2008 · baseball player

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

In the public record

People named McHale,
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 States1,724 records

1,724 records of the McHale name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 556
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 364
  • Other U.S. records 804
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Vincent J. McHale

    Born 1921 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island; photographer from Queens County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1986, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary McHale

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Germanic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 21; cook. From Queenstown, Ireland; bound for New York.

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

    Born 1943; from New York, New York. U.S. Marine Corps, pilot vmr multi place; killed in action 1965 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,724 records for McHale in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia101 records

101 records of the McHale name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 33
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 26
  • Other Australian records 42
  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 Patrick McHale

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Atlas, arriving 1802; ticket of leave 1813. Native of Aged 56.

    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 David McHale

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Albion, aged 28; 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 Michael Vincent McHale

    Retired engineer of Richmond, Victoria; died 1968.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 101 records for McHale in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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: 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).

Canada23 records

23 records of the McHale name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 11
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 6
  • Other Canadian records 6
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Carmen Allen McHale

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 24; buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Halifax.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas McHale

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Severn, landing at Quebec, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  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 Clarence McHale

    Died in service in 1916.

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

Showing 3 of 23 records for McHale 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. · 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. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom18 records

18 records of the McHale name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 15
  • Stirling Council burial records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas McHale

    Buried in 1972 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 82.

    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 W. McHale

    Northumberland 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 page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Jane McHale

    Buried in 1972 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 71.

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

Showing 3 of 18 records for McHale 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 Zealand10 records

10 records of the McHale name in New Zealand
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 7
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Francis Cornelius McHale

    Died 1973, aged 85; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William McHale

    Died 1937, aged 81; 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 Francis McHale

    Died 1922, aged 75; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 10 records for McHale in New Zealand.

Counts: Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McHale.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McHale 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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