The McNally surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 16,039 people carried this name — #2,268 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 18,400 people counted. That is up 2% from 15,768 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McNally surname

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Con Allaidh (son of the wild hound) derived from cú allaid (“wild hound, wild dog”), or in Connacht Irish Mac an Fhailghigh derived from failgheach (“poor man”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McNally» (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 101 births for the McNally name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 4,500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim, Armagh, Monaghan, and Dublin.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 59
Leinster 27
Connacht 12
Munster 3

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

McNally was recorded 52 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 504th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 75. 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

McNally in American newspapers,
1897–1914.

Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name McNally
Daily Kennebec Journal 1897-03-15
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name McNally
Daily Kennebec Journal 1897-03-15
Newspaper page from Ladysmith News-budget carrying the name McNally
Ladysmith News-budget 1914-02-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 93,805 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McNally in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

16,192 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McNally. The most, 5,075, date from the 1940s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 5,883
Queensland 4,241
South Australia 2,447
Victoria 1,893
Western Australia 1,196
Tasmania 260
ACT (Canberra) 220
Northern Territory 5

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

Who carried it

People named McNally,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Stephen McNally
    Stephen McNally 1911–1994 · film actor
  • John McNally
    John McNally 1932–2022 · boxer
  • Dave McNally
    Dave McNally 1942–2002 · baseball player
  • Terrence McNally 1938–2020 · television actor

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

In the public record

People named McNally,
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 States5,845 records

5,845 records of the McNally name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 2,491
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1,420
  • Other U.S. records 1,934
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John J. McNally

    Born 1914 in New York. Enlisted 1941 at New York City; construction worker from Bronx County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1966, buried at Long Island 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 Marian McNally

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Germanic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 21; servant. From Birkenhead, 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 Edward McNally

    Born 1946; from Cheyenne, Wyoming. U.S. Army, tactical wire operations specialist; killed in action 1968 in Phong Dinh, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 5,845 records for McNally in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · 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. 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, 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).

Australia767 records

767 records of the McNally name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 282
  • Tasmanian Names Index 180
  • Other Australian records 305
  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 Anne McNally

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Hope, sailing from Dublin in 1842. Native of Westmeath. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1846. Married 1846 in Spring Bay, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Tasman James McNally

    Born 1874 in Hobart, Tasmania. Died 1896 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 23.

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

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1849. Married 1849 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 25.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 767 records for McNally 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) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada174 records

174 records of the McNally name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 113
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 18
  • Other Canadian records 43
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John McNally

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Missouri, landing at Quebec, bound for Kingston, 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 Wilfred Russell McNally

    Buried in 1961 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 64.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Theodore McNally

    Died 1951 in New Glasgow, Pictou, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 174 records for McNally 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 Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · 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 Kingdom33 records

33 records of the McNally name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 17
  • Stirling Council burial records 8
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 8
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Peter McNally

    Buried in 1966 at St Thomas Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 53.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James McNally

    Buried in 1851 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 18.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. T. McNally

    Sapper, Royal Engineers. 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 33 records for McNally 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. · 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: 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 Zealand17 records

17 records of the McNally name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 12
  • Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury 4
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Johanna McNally

    Died 1954, aged 66; buried at Ruru Lawn, 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 George Thompson McNally

    Died 1968, aged 73; buried at Picton Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Gladys May McNally

    Died 1995; buried at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 17 records for McNally in New Zealand.

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

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the McNally name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Michael Joseph Mc Nally

    In the population register of Belfort (Gb); student, born 1912 in Belfort (Gb).

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McNally.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McNally 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 McNally volume
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