Macaulay (surname)

Macaulay, Macauley, MacAulay, McAulay and McAuley are surnames of Irish origin originating in Westmeath, Leinster anglicized from Irish Mac Amhalghaidh in the English language.[1] The surname is also found in Scotland of distinct, but related origins due to Irish settling in Scotland. Some of the Irish Macaulay's settled in Scotland during the reign of Robert the Bruce.[2] There are several etymological origins for the names: all of which originated as patronyms in several Gaelic languages—Irish and Scottish Gaelic. Although the English-language surnames are ultimately derived from Gaelic patronyms, the English-language surnames, and the modern Gaelic-language forms do not refer to the actual name of the bearer's father.

For other uses, see Macaulay.
Macaulay
GenderUnisex
Language(s)English
Origin
Language(s)Irish (Ir), Scottish Gaelic (SG)
Word/name1. MacAmhalghaidh (SG), Mac Amhalghaidh (Ir)
2. MacAmhlaibh (SG), MacAmhlaidh (SG), Mac Amhlaoibh (Ir)
Other names
Variant form(s)Macauley, MacAulay, McAulay, McAuley, MacCamley, McCamley

Etymology

In some cases, the surnames are derived from the Scottish Gaelic MacAmhlaidh, or the Irish Gaelic Mac Amhalghaidh.[3][4] These Gaelic surnames translate into English as "son of Amhalghaidh"[5] or "son of Amhalghadh".[6] The Gaelic surnames originated as a patronyms, however they no longer refer to the actual names of the bearer's father's. The personal name Amhalghaidh (also spelt Amhalghadh) is an old Gaelic name whose origin and meaning are uncertain.[6]

In other cases, the surnames are derived from the Scottish Gaelic MacAmhlaibh or MacAmhlaidh,[4] or the Irish Mac Amhlaoibh.[3] These surnames translate into English as "son of Amhlaibh"; "son of Amhladh" or "son of Amhlaidh"; and "son of Amhlaoibh". The names Amhlaibh, Amhladh, Amhlaidh, and Amhlaoibh are Gaelic derivatives of the Old Norse personal names Áleifr and Olaf or Óláfr.[3]

Distribution

United States

In 1990, the United States Census Bureau undertook a study of the 1990 United States Census, and released a sample of data concerning the most common names.[7] According to this sample of 6.3 million people (who had 88,799 unique last names),[8] "MACAULAY" (including Macaulay and MacAulay) ranked 12,186th most common last name, and was borne by 0.001 percent of the population sample. "MCAULAY" (McAulay) was much less common; it ranked 35,241st most common last name, and was borne by 0.000 percent of the population sample.[9] Within the 2000 United States Census, "MACAULAY" was the 12,764th most common last name, with 2,219 occurrences. "MCAULAY" was the 33,528th most common last name, with only 642 occurrences.[10] The table below shows data concerning racial-ethnic aspects of the surnames in the 2000 United States Census (note that two fields have been suppressed by the United States Census Bureau for confidentiality reasons, since "MCAULAY" had fewer than 1,000 people).[11]

Scotland

Macaulay, MacAulay, and McAulay were not amongst the 100 most common surnames recorded in birth, death, and marriage registers in Scotland, in 1995.[12] None of the surnames ranked amongst the 100 most common surnames recorded in birth, death, and marriage registrations in the combined years of 1999, 2000, and 2001.[13] None of the surnames ranked amongst the most common surnames recorded in Scotland, in the United Kingdom Census 1901.[14]

People with the surnames

References
  1. "MacAulay Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms".
  2. "MacAulay Name Meaning, Family History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms".
  3. Learn about the family history of your surname, Ancestry.com, retrieved 17 December 2010, which cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4, for the surnames "MacAulay", "McAulay", "McCauley".
  4. Reaney, Percy Hilde; Wilson, Richard Middlewood (2006), A Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed.), London: Routledge, p. 2034, ISBN 0-203-99355-1
  5. Mac Amhalghadha, Mac Amhalghaidh, Library Ireland (www.libraryireland.com), retrieved 19 December 2010, which is a transcription of: Woulfe, Patrick (1923), Irish Names and Surnames
  6. Learn about the family history of your surname, Ancestry.com, retrieved 20 December 2010, which cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4, for the surname "McCauley".
  7. Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 1990 – Names Files, United States Census Bureau (www.census.gov), archived from the original on 31 December 2009, retrieved 7 January 2011
  8. Documentation and Methodology for Frequently Occurring Names in the U.S., United States Census Bureau (www.census.gov), archived from the original (txt) on 31 December 2009, retrieved 7 January 2011
  9. dist.all.last, United States Census Bureau (www.census.gov), archived from the original (txt) on 7 July 2011, retrieved 7 January 2011
  10. Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000, United States Census Bureau (www.census.gov), archived from the original on 21 December 2009, retrieved 7 January 2011
  11. Word, David L.; Coleman, Charles D.; Nunziata, Robert; Kominski, Robert, Demographic Aspects of Surnames from Census 2000 (PDF), United States Census Bureau (www.census.gov), p. 17, retrieved 7 January 2011
  12. 100 Most Common Surnames, General Register Office for Scotland (www.gro-scotland.gov.uk), archived from the original on 25 September 2012, retrieved 10 January 2011
  13. Bowie, Neil; Jackson, G.W.L. (2003), Surnames in Scotland over the last 140 years, General Register Office for Scotland (www.gro-scotland.gov.uk), archived from the original on December 25, 2010, retrieved 10 January 2011, and see also: Table A1: Top 100 Surnames in Scotland: 1999/2000/2001 (PDF), General Register Office for Scotland (www.gro-scotland.gov.uk), archived from the original (PDF) on 1 January 2011, retrieved 10 January 2011
  14. Bowie, Neil; Jackson, G.W.L. (2003), Surnames in Scotland over the last 140 years, General Register Office for Scotland (www.gro-scotland.gov.uk), retrieved 10 January 2011, and see also: Table A5: Rank of the Top 300 Surnames in Alphabetical Order, 1901 Census (PDF), General Register Office for Scotland (www.gro-scotland.gov.uk), archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2011, retrieved 10 January 2011
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