Show ContentsMcCafferty History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

There are multitude of rich histories underlying the many Irish surnames in use today. The name McCafferty originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Gafraidh. Gafraidh or Gothraidh equates with the English personal name Godfrey. Variations that start with the prefix Mac or Mc mean son of Godfrey.

Early Origins of the McCafferty family

The surname McCafferty was first found in County Fermanagh (Irish: Fear Manach) in the southwestern part of Northern Ireland, Province of Ulster, where they held a family seat at Ballymacaffrey near Five mile Town in Fermanagh near the Tyrone border. [1]

Early History of the McCafferty family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McCafferty research. Another 51 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1987 is included under the topic Early McCafferty History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McCafferty Spelling Variations

In the days before Gaelic or English gained any significant semblance of standardization, the scribes who created documents simply recorded names as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages many people were recorded under different spellings each time their name was written down. Research into the McCafferty family history revealed numerous spelling variations of the name, including MacCaffery, MacCaffrey, MacCafferty, MacAffery, MacAffry, MacAfferty, MacGoffrey, MacGodfrey and many more.

Early Notables of the McCafferty family

More information is included under the topic Early McCafferty Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McCafferty Ranking

In the United States, the name McCafferty is the 5,609th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [2]


United States McCafferty migration to the United States +

Ireland, as an English-controlled colony in the 19th century, suffered the loss of hundreds of thousands of its native people. The system of land ownership often did not sufficiently provide for the tenants who farmed the land. This was most clearly evidenced in the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s. Previous years of great demand for grain products and livestock had run the land down. Many landowners foreseeing an upcoming crisis often removed families from the land or forced them to rely on pitifully small plots where only a subsistence living could be made. When the famines of 1845, 46, and 48 hit, many had nothing. Disease and starvation became widespread and families boarded ships for elsewhere any way they could. Those who went to America were instrumental in developing the industrial power known today: many Irish were employed in hard labor positions in factories and in building the bridges, canals, roads, and railways necessary for a strong industrial nation. Research of early immigration and passenger lists has shown that many bearers of the name McCafferty:

McCafferty Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • James McCafferty, who arrived in New York, NY in 1803 [3]
  • Biddy McCafferty, aged 20, who landed in New Castle or Philadelphia in 1804 [3]
  • William McCafferty, who landed in America in 1805 [3]
  • Susan McCafferty, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 [3]
  • John McCafferty, aged 29, who landed in New York in 1812 [3]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada McCafferty migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McCafferty Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Henry McCafferty, aged 30, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Salus" in 1833
  • Hugh McCafferty, aged 30, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Salus" in 1833
  • Thomas McCafferty a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Zephyr" in 1833
  • Anna McCafferty, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Zephyr" in 1833
  • Edward McCafferty, aged 22, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Perseus" in 1834
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Australia McCafferty migration to Australia +

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

McCafferty Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. William McCafferty, Scottish convict who was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Equestrian" on 27th August 1852, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) [4]

New Zealand McCafferty 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:

McCafferty Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Patrick McCAFFERTY, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
  • Mr. Edward Mccafferty, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Queen of the Deep" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 14th June 1854 [5]
  • Mrs. Mary Mccafferty, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Queen of the Deep" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 14th June 1854 [5]
  • James McCafferty, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alfred" in 1864 [6]
  • James McCafferty, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Andrew Jackson" in 1865
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name McCafferty (post 1700) +

  • John Francis "Jack" McCafferty (1914-1999), Australian businessman and politician from Breakfast Creek, Brisbane who founded McCafferty's Coaches, an Australian interstate coach operator in 1940
  • Michael McCafferty, American actor, known for The Invisible Man (2000) Not a Father's Day (2008)
  • Landya Boyer McCafferty (b. 1962), American jurist, Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire (2013-)
  • Michael McCafferty (b. 1942), American entrepreneur and inventor, known as the "Father of CRM"
  • Donald William "Don" McCafferty (1921-1974), American football head coach of the Baltimore Colts when they won Super Bowl V, the first rookie head coach to win the Super Bowl
  • Megan Fitzmorris McCafferty (b. 1973), American author, known for her New York Times bestselling Jessica Darling series of young adult novels
  • Jane McCafferty, American novelist, and short story writer
  • Neil McCafferty (b. 1984), Irish footballer who plays for NIFL Premiership side Warrenpoint Town
  • Nell McCafferty (b. 1944), Irish journalist, playwright, civil rights campaigner and feminist
  • William Daniel "Dan" McCafferty (1946-2022), Scottish lead singer for the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth from its founding in 1968 to his retirement from touring with the band in 2013, perhaps best remembered for his rendition of Love Hurts
  • ... (Another 11 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. 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)
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/equestrian
  5. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  6. Archives New Zealand Micro 5019. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Alfred. Retrieved from http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ourstuff/Alfred1864.htm


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