Show ContentsMcInelly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The original Gaelic form of McInelly was Mac an Fhailghigh, which is derived from the word failgheach, which means poor man.

Early Origins of the McInelly family

The surname McInelly was first found in counties Armagh and Monaghan (Irish: Muineachán) located in the Northern part of the Republic of Ireland in the province of Ulster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the McInelly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McInelly research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1120, 1653, 1680 and 1697 are included under the topic Early McInelly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McInelly Spelling Variations

People who were accounted for by scribes and church officials often had their name recorded many different ways because pronunciation was the only guide those scribes and church officials had to go by. This resulted in the problem of one person's name being recorded under several different variations, creating the illusion of more than one person. Among the many spelling variations of the surname McInelly that are preserved in archival documents are McNally, McAnully, McAnalley, McAnally and others.

Early Notables of the McInelly family

Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McInelly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the McInelly family

Irish families left their homeland in astonishing numbers during the 19th century in search of a better life. Although individual reasons vary, most of these Irish families suffered from extreme poverty, lack of work opportunities, and exorbitant rents in their homeland. Many decided to travel to Australia or North America in the hopes of finding greater opportunities and land. The Irish immigrants that came to North America initially settled on the East Coast, often in major centers such as Boston or New York. But like the many other cultures to settle in North America, the Irish traveled to almost any region they felt held greater promise; as a result, many Irish with gold fever moved all the way out to the Pacific coast. Others before that time left for land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula, or the Maritimes as United Empire Loyalists, for many Irish did choose to side with the English during the American War of Independence. The earliest wave of Irish migration, however, occurred during the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s. An examination of early immigration and passenger lists has revealed many people bearing the McInelly name: Bernard, Biddy, Charles, George, Henry John, Michal, Patrick, Thomas and William McNally all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; Daniel, Francis and Patrick McAnully all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.


Contemporary Notables of the name McInelly (post 1700) +

  • Marcy McInelly, American architect and urban designer at the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • Mike McInelly, American running back for the BYU Cougars in 2005, Cofounder & CEO at Spring Dental, Oklahoma
  • Brett McInelly, American Full-time Faculty Associate Professor of English at Bringham Young University
  • Mat McInelly, American game developer and manual designer, known for his work on the Kinect product line
  • Ardie McInelly, American former head women's basketball coach at Air Force, former head coach at Idaho State


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