Show ContentsMcCoskey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Irish surnames are all based on the Gaelic language native to Ireland. The original Gaelic form of the name McCoskey is Mag Uidhir, which is derived from the word odhar, meaning dun-colored; in the genitive case, the word is uidhir.

Early Origins of the McCoskey family

The surname McCoskey was first found in County Fermanagh (Irish: Fear Manach) in the southwestern part of Northern Ireland, Province of Ulster.

Early History of the McCoskey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McCoskey research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McCoskey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McCoskey Spelling Variations

Pronunciation, rather than spelling, guided scribes and church officials when recording names during the Middle Ages. This practice often resulted in one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname McCoskey are preserved in these old documents. The various spellings of the name that were found include MacCosker, MacCusker, MacOsker, MacOscar and many more.

Early Notables of the McCoskey family

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


United States McCoskey migration to the United States +

During the 19th century thousands of impoverished Irish families made the long journey to British North America and the United States. These people were leaving a land that had become beset with poverty, lack of opportunity, and hunger. In North America, they hoped to find land, work, and political and religious freedoms. Although the majority of the immigrants that survived the long sea passage did make these discoveries, it was not without much perseverance and hard work: by the mid-19th century land suitable for agriculture was short supply, especially in British North America, in the east; the work available was generally low paying and physically taxing construction or factory work; and the English stereotypes concerning the Irish, although less frequent and vehement, were, nevertheless, present in the land of freedom, liberty, and equality for all men. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Research into passenger and immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the McCoskey family in North America:

McCoskey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Robert McCoskey, aged 20, who landed in New York in 1812 1


  1. 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)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook