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The original Gaelic form of MacAtee was Ó Maoltuile or Mac Maoltuile. While tuile means flood, this element of the name, in this case probably represents toile, the genitive form of toil which means will. Thus the name probably means the will of God.
The surname MacAtee was first found in County Galway (Irish: Gaillimh) part of the province of Connacht, located on the west coast of the Island, where they held a family seat from ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacAtee research. Another 143 words (10 lines of text) covering the year 1691 is included under the topic Early MacAtee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
A name was often recorded during the Middle Ages under several different spelling variations during the life of its bearer because literacy was rare there was no real push to clearly define any of the languages found in the British Isles at that time. Variations found of the name MacAtee include MacAtilla, MacTully, Tully, Multilly, MacTorley and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early MacAtee Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the MacAtee family came to North America quite early: