Contents [hide]

McCourt History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

McCourt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Early Origins of the McCourt family

The surname McCourt was first found in Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland, that today makes up the Council Areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire. "MacCoard, Maccord, Maccourt: Maccord is an old surname in the parish of Ballantrae." 1

The same source notes the name is the "same as MacCuarta, MacCuairt, 'not improbably a corruption of MacMhuircheartaigh.' " 1

Early History of the McCourt family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McCourt research. Another 132 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1471, 1473, 1544, 1627 and 1890 are included under the topic Early McCourt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McCourt Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: MacCord, McCord, MacCoard, McCoard, MacCourt, McCourt, McCourtie, McCordie, McCourty, McCordy, M'Cord, M'Corde, Makcorde, Mac Cuarta and many more.

Early Notables of the McCourt family

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

McCourt Ranking

In the United States, the name McCourt is the 7,591^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Migration of the McCourt family to Ireland

Some of the McCourt family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 124 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McCourt migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McCourt Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James McCourt, aged 25, who landed in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1820 3
James McCourt, aged 25, who settled in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1820
Peter McCourt, who landed in New York, NY in 1827 3
Lawrence McCourt, aged 40, who settled in Missouri in 1840
Lawrence McCourt, aged 40, who arrived in Missouri in 1840 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McCourt Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Bridget McCourt, aged 27, who landed in America from Tyrone, in 1902
Edward McCourt, aged 24, who landed in America from Down, in 1903
Bernhard McCourt, aged 27, who settled in America from Glasgow, in 1904
Edward McCourt, aged 27, who immigrated to the United States from Tyrone, in 1905
Alice McCourt, aged 42, who immigrated to the United States from Newry, Ireland, in 1906
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McCourt migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McCourt Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Patrick McCourt, aged 21, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the brig "Dorcas Savage" from Belfast, Ireland
Patrick McCourt, aged 25, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the brig "Dorcas Savage" from Belfast, Ireland
James McCourt, aged 25, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the brig "Dorcas Savage" from Belfast, Ireland
Elenor McCourt, aged 21, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Billow" in 1833

McCourt Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Fred McCourt, aged 38, who immigrated to Montreal, Canada, in 1923

McCourt migration to Australia +

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

McCourt Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Patrick McCourt, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 4
Mary McCourt, aged 24, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Bucephalus"
Ann McCourt, aged 19, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Oriental,"
James McCourt, aged 27, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Agincourt"
Esther McCourt, aged 15, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Agincourt"

McCourt 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:

McCourt Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. William McCourt, (b. 1852), aged 22, Irish labourer from Armagh travelling from London aboard the ship "Tweed" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 4th September 1874 5
Thomas McCourt, aged 25, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ionic" in 1884
Francis McCourt, aged 20, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ionic" in 1884

Contemporary Notables of the name McCourt (post 1700) +

Malachy Gerard McCourt (1931-2024), Irish-American actor, writer and politician, 2006 Green Party candidate for governor of New York, younger brother of author Frank McCourt.
Alphonsus Joseph "Alphie" McCourt (1940-2016), Irish-born, American writer
James Frances McCourt (b. 1941), American writer and novelist
Francis "Frank" McCourt (1930-2009), Irish-American teacher and Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Kevin McCourt (b. 1964), Scottish interdisciplinary artist
James Vincent McCourt (1944-2023), Irish gold and two-times bronze medalist boxer from Belfast, Northern Ireland
Carmel McCourt (b. 1958), British singer
Elizabeth McCourt Tabor (1854-1935), better known as Baby Doe, the second wife of pioneer businessman Horace Tabor, her story inspired the opera The Ballad of Baby Doe

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html