McCafferty History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  Ireland 


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


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

McCafferty migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McCafferty Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

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

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

Contemporary Notables of the name McCafferty (post 1700) +
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