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Macgrath History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

MacGrath History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

All Irish surnames have underlying meanings that can be traced back to their fullest points when the names first appeared in a Gaelic form. The name MacGrath originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Graith or Mag Raith; these are both derived from the personal name Craith which literally means "to weave" and in this case is an occupational name too. The Mac or Mc prefix would denote "son of the weaver." 1

Anciently the family claim descent through O'Sullivan Mor which explains the stag (or antelope) in the fourth quarter of the shield. In turn, the O'Sullivans descend from the Heber line of Irish kings. 1

Early Origins of the MacGrath family

The surname MacGrath was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times. They were the hereditary poets to the O'Briens of Thomond. The family is still found here, but present day descendants usually hail from Tipperary and Waterford. Another branch was located at Termon MacGrath on the borders of Donegal and Fermanagh. 2

The MacGraths were Chiefs in the County of Waterford since very early times. A sub-branch was located at Ballynagilty in Waterford where Philip MacGrath was the progenitor. 1

This latter branch of the family produced Thomas McGrath of Ardagh, near Youhal, co. Cork who had four sons and twelve daughters. Thomas was descended from the Ulster M'Graths of Clanaboy, who were of the race of Clan Colla and were men of influence in County Waterford. Two of the sons emigrated to the Americas: Alderman Thomas McGrath of Montreal (died 1864); and Denis MacGrath of New York (died in 1846.) 1

Early History of the MacGrath family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacGrath research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1067, 1097, 1172, 1240, 1389, 1395, 1400, 1415, 1421, 1423, 1433, 1450, 1460, 1463, 1523, 1580, 1600, 1622 and 1650 are included under the topic Early MacGrath History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

MacGrath Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, surnames were spelt by scribes solely based on how it sounded, one's name could have been recorded many different ways during the life of its bearer. Numerous spelling variations were revealed in the search for the origin of the name MacGrath family name. Variations found include MacGrath, MacGraw, MacGrauth, Magrath, Magraw and many more.

Early Notables of the MacGrath family

Notable among the family name at this time was

Miler MacGrath (1523-1622), Archbishop of Cashel. Seán mac Ruaidhri Mac Craith (fl. 14th-century), later known as John Macrory Magrath, was an Irish historian known as the author of Caithréim Thoirdhe...

MacGrath migration to the United States +

Under the rule of England, land ownership in Ireland changed dramatically, and many native Irish families found themselves renting out land to farm from absentee owners. This was one of the prime reasons that immigration to North America began in the late 18th century: Irish farmers dreamed of owning their own parcel of land to work for themselves. At this point, the immigrants were at least of modest means for the passage across the Atlantic was often quite dear. In the 1840s the Great Potato Famine created an exodus of people of quite different means. These people were most often destitute: they either sold anything they had to gain a passage or they were sponsored by philanthropic societies. Many of these immigrants were sick from disease and starvation: as a result many did not survive the long transatlantic journey. Although those settlers that did survive were often despised and discriminated against by people already established in these nations, they were critical to rapid development of the powerful industrial nations of the United States and the country that would later become known as Canada. An examination of immigration and passenger lists shows many persons bearing the name of MacGrath or one of its variants:

MacGrath Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Marg MacGrath, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1811 3
Patrick MacGrath, who arrived in New London, Connecticut in 1811 3
Thomas MacGrath, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1811 3
William MacGrath, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 3
James MacGrath, who landed in New York, NY in 1815 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

MacGrath migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

MacGrath Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Catherine Macgrath who was convicted in Liverpool, Lancashire, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 22nd April 1851, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), she died in 1891 4

MacGrath migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

MacGrath Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

James MacGrath a butcher, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Sir George Grey" in 1864

Contemporary Notables of the name MacGrath (post 1700) +

Harold MacGrath (1871-1932), American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter, known for his novel The Puppet Crown (1901) which later became a film (1915)
Ryan MacGrath, Canadian singer-songwriter from Halifax, Nova Scotia
Leueen MacGrath (1914-1992), British actress and playwright
Raymond MacGrath, Australian Architect
Sir Charles MacGrath, Australian Company Director

Citations +

O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora