Show ContentsMcDaid History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Irish McDaid surname is derived from the Irish Gaelic Patronymic name "Mac Daibheid," which means son of David.

Early Origins of the McDaid family

The surname McDaid was first found in on the Inishowen peninsula, in County Donegal, where a sept of this name claim David O'Doherty (d. 1208,) a chief of Cenel Eoghain, as their ancestor.

Early History of the McDaid family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McDaid research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McDaid History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McDaid Spelling Variations

Many spelling variations of the surname McDaid can be found in the archives. One reason for these variations is that ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. The different spellings that were found include MacDaid, MacDavid, McDavid, Dade, MacDade, Devitt, MacDevitt, MacDavitt and many more.

Early Notables of the McDaid family

More information is included under the topic Early McDaid Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States McDaid migration to the United States +

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 McDaid family came to North America quite early:

McDaid Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • James McDaid, who settled in Philadelphia in 1844
  • Robert McDaid, who settled in Philadelphia in 1844
  • Edward McDaid, who settled in Philadelphia in 1852
  • Maggie McDaid, aged 25, who arrived in New York, NY in 1893 [1]

Canada McDaid migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McDaid Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Sarah McDaid, aged 30, who arrived in Quebec in 1833
  • Hannah McDaid, aged 21, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Trial" in 1833
  • Patrick McDaid, aged 2, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Trial" in 1833
  • Hannah McDaid, who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833
  • Jane McDaid, who was on record in Quebec in 1834
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand McDaid 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:

McDaid Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Connell McDaid, (b. 1949), aged 27, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Pomona" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 14th April 1876 [2]

Contemporary Notables of the name McDaid (post 1700) +

  • Richard William McDaid (b. 1975), Northern Irish cricketer from Derry
  • John McDaid (b. 1909), Northern Irish footballer from Derry
  • David McDaid (b. 1990), Northern Irish professional footballer from Derry
  • Hugh McDaid, Irish former Chairman of League of Ireland club
  • Danny McDaid (b. 1941), two-time Irish Olympic athlete, four-time national marathon champion
  • Jim McDaid (b. 1949), Irish Fianna Fáil politician and medical doctor
  • Kevin McDaid (b. 1984), Nigerian-born British singer, best known as a member of the British boy band V
  • Sean Andrew McDaid (b. 1986), English-born, retired Scottish footballer

Lady of the Lake
  • Miss Susan McDaid (b. 1819), traveller who sailed aboard the "Lady of the Lake" from Greenock, Scotland on 8th April 1833 to Quebec, Canada when the ship hit ice and sunk of the coast of Newfoundland on the 11th May 1833 and she died in the sinking


  1. 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)
  2. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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