Show ContentsMcCarroll History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of McCarroll

What does the name McCarroll mean?

The name McCarroll has undergone many variations in the time that has passed since its genesis. In Gaelic it appeared as Cearbhaill, which is derived from the name of Cearbhal, the Lord of Ely who helped King Brian Boru lead the Irish to victory over the Danes at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Donnchad Ua Cerbaill or Donnchadh Ó Cearbhaill was King of Airgíalla, fl. c. 1130-1168. Maol Ruanaidh Cam Ó Cearbhaill, sometimes Anglicized as Cam O'Kayrwill (died 10 June 1329) was a notable Irish harpist and player of the tiompan who was murdered with many others at the Braganstown Massacre.

Early Origins of the McCarroll family

The surname McCarroll was first found in counties Tipperary, Offaly, Monaghan and Louth. Through their connection with Cearbal, they descend from King Oilioll Olum.

There were six distinct O'Carroll septs prior to the Anglo-Norman Conquest. While four disintegrated before the end of the 13th century, the two most important septs continued. These were O'Carroll of Ely O'Carroll, from the counties of Tipperary and Offaly, and O'Carroll of Oriel, from the counties of Monagan and Louth.

While the Oriel O'Carrolls disappeared as an official sept resulting from the Anglo-Norman Conquest, the members of that sept were not scattered, but remained mainly within their ancient territories. However, the O'Carrolls of Ely O'Carroll managed to maintain their independence and heritage until the end of the 16th century, and continued to play an important role in Irish history.

They formerly held large territories in the county of Tipperary, but were confined to the area around Birr in the county of Offaly by the rise of the powerful Norman Butlers.

Early History of the McCarroll family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McCarroll research. Another 200 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1014, 1172, 1451, 1600, 1602, 1625, 1661, 1673, 1711, 1720, 1735, 1737, 1789, 1792, 1815, 1832 and 1916 are included under the topic Early McCarroll History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McCarroll Spelling Variations

The scribes who created documents long before either the Gaelic or English language resembled their standardized versions of today recorded words as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages the names of many people were recorded under different spellings each time they were written down. Research on the McCarroll family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including O'Carroll, Carroll, Carrel, Carrell, Carrill, Carrol, Carroll, Caryll, Garvil, Garvill and many more.

Early Notables of the McCarroll family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was John Caryll (1625-1711), 1st Baron Caryll of Durford who came of an ancient Roman Catholic family, which had been settled, from the close of the sixteenth century, at West Harting in Sussex. 1Charles Carroll (1661-1720), often called Charles Carroll the Settler, to differentiate him from his son and grandson, was a wealthy lawyer...
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McCarroll Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McCarroll Ranking

In the United States, the name McCarroll is the 10,327th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2


McCarroll migration to the United States +

Suffering from poverty and racial discrimination, thousands of Irish families left the island in the 19th century for North America aboard cramped passenger ships. The early migrants became settlers of small tracts of land, and those that came later were often employed in the new cities or transitional work camps. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Although the immigrants from this period were often maligned when they arrived in the United States, they provided the cheap labor that was necessary for the development of that country as an industrial power. Early immigration and passenger lists have revealed many immigrants bearing the name McCarroll:

McCarroll Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Robert McCarroll, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 3
McCarroll Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Patrick McCarroll, aged 26, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1804 3
  • William McCarroll, who arrived in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1808 3
  • Philip McCarroll, aged 26, who landed in New York in 1849 3
  • James McCarroll, aged 20, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1851 3

McCarroll migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McCarroll Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Hugh McCarroll, aged 24, who arrived in Quebec in 1834
  • Mrs. Mary McCarroll, aged 40 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Goliah" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle in July 1847 4
  • Ms. Margaret McCarroll who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Corea" departing 2nd July 1847 from Liverpool, England; the ship arrived on 14th August 1847 but she died on board 5

McCarroll 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:

McCarroll Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Anne McCarroll, aged 24, a servant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Lauderdale" in 1874

Contemporary Notables of the name McCarroll (post 1700) +

  • June Hill Robertson McCarroll (1867-1954), American nurse (later a physician) with the Southern Pacific Railroad; she is credited with idea of delineating highways with a painted line to separate lanes of highway traffic after a near collision in her Model T
  • Bonnie McCarroll (1897-1929), American champion rodeo performer and bronco rider
  • Jay McCarroll (b. 1974), American fashion designer
  • Anthony "Tony" McCarroll (b. 1971), English drummer, one of the founding members of English rock group Oasis

HMS Repulse
  • Mr. James William Michael Mccarroll, British Corporal, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 6


The McCarroll Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: In Fide et in Bello Fortis
Motto Translation: Strong in both faith and war.


  1. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. 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)
  4. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 42)
  5. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 86)
  6. HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html


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