Show ContentsMacCaffery History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

  • Origins Available:
  • Ireland
MacCaffery Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of MacCaffery

What does the name MacCaffery mean?

There are multitude of rich histories underlying the many Irish surnames in use today. The name MacCaffery 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 MacCaffery family

The surname MacCaffery 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 MacCaffery family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacCaffery research. Another 51 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1987 is included under the topic Early MacCaffery History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

MacCaffery Spelling Variations

Many different spelling variations of the surname MacCaffery exist in the archives researched. Ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include MacCaffery, MacCaffrey, MacCafferty, MacAffery, MacAffry, MacAfferty, MacGoffrey, MacGodfrey and many more.

Early Notables of the MacCaffery family

  • Reverend James MacCaffery (d. 1987), distinguished Irish historian

MacCaffery migration to the United States+

During the middle of the 19th century, Irish families often experienced extreme poverty and racial discrimination in their own homeland under English rule. Record numbers died of disease and starvation, and many others, deciding against such a fate, boarded ships bound for North America. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Unfortunately, many of those Irish that arrived in Canada or the United States still experienced economic and racial discrimination. Although often maligned, these Irish people were essential to the rapid development of these countries because they provided the cheap labor required for the many canals, roads, railways, and other projects required for strong national infrastructures. Eventually the Irish went on to make contributions in the less backbreaking and more intellectual arenas of commerce, education, and the arts. Research early immigration and passenger lists revealed many early immigrants bearing the name MacCaffery:

MacCaffery Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Edward, Hugh, Owen, Peter, Phillip, and Thomas MacCaffery all, who arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860
  1. MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)

Houseofnames.com on Facebook