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McGrath History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Sources

McGrath History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of McGrath

What does the name McGrath mean?

All Irish surnames have underlying meanings that can be traced back to their fullest points when the names first appeared in a Gaelic form. The name McGrath originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Graith or Mag Raith; these are both derived from the personal name Craith which literally means "to weave" and in this case is an occupational name too. The Mac or Mc prefix would denote "son of the weaver." (O'Hart)

Anciently the family claim descent through O'Sullivan Mor which explains the stag (or antelope) in the fourth quarter of the shield. In turn, the O'Sullivans descend from the Heber line of Irish kings. (O'Hart)

Early Origins of the McGrath family

The surname McGrath was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times. They were the hereditary poets to the O'Briens of Thomond. The family is still found here, but present day descendants usually hail from Tipperary and Waterford. Another branch was located at Termon MacGrath on the borders of Donegal and Fermanagh. 1

The MacGraths were Chiefs in the County of Waterford since very early times. A sub-branch was located at Ballynagilty in Waterford where Philip MacGrath was the progenitor. (O'Hart)

This latter branch of the family produced Thomas McGrath of Ardagh, near Youhal, co. Cork who had four sons and twelve daughters. Thomas was descended from the Ulster M'Graths of Clanaboy, who were of the race of Clan Colla and were men of influence in County Waterford. Two of the sons emigrated to the Americas: Alderman Thomas McGrath of Montreal (died 1864); and Denis MacGrath of New York (died in 1846.) (O'Hart)

Early History of the McGrath family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McGrath research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1067, 1097, 1172, 1240, 1389, 1395, 1400, 1415, 1421, 1423, 1433, 1450, 1460, 1463, 1523, 1580, 1600, 1622 and 1650 are included under the topic Early McGrath History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McGrath Spelling Variations

Lacking standardized spellings, scribes and church officials recorded people's name according to how they sounded. This practice often led to the misleading result of one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname McGrath are preserved in the archival documents of the period. The various spellings of the name that were found include MacGrath, MacGraw, MacGrauth, Magrath, Magraw and many more.

Early Notables of the McGrath family

Maolmhuire Mag Raith (Miler Magrath, Miler McGrath, also Myler) (c. 1523-1622), was an Irish priest and archbishop born in County Fermanagh, Ireland. He came from a family of hereditary historians to...

McGrath World Ranking

the United States, the name McGrath is the 1,120^th most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name McGrath is ranked the 641^st most popular surname with an estimated 8,111 people with that name. 3 And in Australia, the name McGrath is the 182^nd popular surname with an estimated 17,435 people with that name. 4 New Zealand ranks McGrath as 380^th with 1,695 people. 5 The United Kingdom ranks McGrath as 587^th with 11,100 people. 6

McGrath 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 McGrath:

McGrath Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William McGrath, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1763 7
Thomas McGrath, who arrived in America in 1798 7
John McGrath, who landed in America in 1799 7

McGrath Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Edward McGrath, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1802 7
Richard McGrath, who landed in America in 1806 7
Patrick McGrath, who arrived in America in 1811 7
James McGrath, who arrived in America in 1811 7
Margeret McGrath, aged 40, who landed in Massachusetts in 1812 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McGrath migration to Canada +

McGrath Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

James McGrath, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749
Thomas McGrath who settled in Salmon Cove, Newfoundland in 1752 8
Phillip McGrath settled at Trinity, Newfoundland in 1757
James McGrath was a fisherman out of St. John's, Newfoundland in 1764 8
John McGrath was a cooper in Torbay, Newfoundland in 1782
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McGrath Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Michael McGrath from Limerick settled in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1816 8
Anne Hardin McGrath, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1830
Henry McGrath, aged 22, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Cupid" in 1834
James McGrath, aged 40, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Ranger" in 1834
Ellen McGrath, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1834
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McGrath migration to Australia +

McGrath Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Mcgrath, British Convict who was convicted in Somerset, England for life for robbery, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Michael Mcgrath, (b. 1773), aged 36, Irish labourer who was convicted in Kilkenny, Ireland for 7 years for being an Irish rebel, transported aboard the "Boyd" on 10th March 1809, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
Mr. Dennis Mcgrath, (b. 1799), aged 30, Irish convict who was convicted in Limerick, Ireland for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 2nd March 1829, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died aboard the ship in 1829 11
Mr. Daniel McGrath, English convict who was convicted in Westminster, London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Camden" on 21st September 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
Mr. Thomas McGrath, British Convict who was convicted in Chatham, England for life, transported aboard the "Asia" on 5th November 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land)1836 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McGrath 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:

McGrath Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph Mcgrath, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Queen of the Deep" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 14th June 1854 14
Miss Mary McGrath, Irish settler from Affane travelling from Leith aboard the ship 'Melbourne' arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 18th March 1861 15
Mr. Edward Mcgrath, (b. 1861), aged 10 months, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship 'Mermaid' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th December 1862 15
Mr. Charles Mcgrath, (b. 1838), aged 24, British farm labourer travelling from London aboard the ship 'Mermaid' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th December 1862 15
Miss Margaret Mcgrath, (b. 1841), aged 21, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship 'Mermaid' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th December 1862 15
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name McGrath (post 1700) +

Daniel Anthony McGrath (1964-2025), American television writer, educator, and stage director, known primarily for work as a writer/producer for several TV series including The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill, Gravity Falls, and Mission Hill
Michael McGrath (1957-2023), American actor, best known for his work on the Broadway stage where he received a Tony award in 2012 for his performance in the musical Nice Work If You Can Get It
Mark Gregory "Marcos Gregorio" McGrath CSC (1924-2000), American-Panamanian Catholic prelate and member the Congregation of Holy Cross, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Panama
Patrick Joseph McGrath (1945-2023), Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, Bishop of the Diocese of San Jose in California from 1999 to 2019
Robert Emmet "Bob" McGrath (1932-2022), American singer and actor, best known for his role as Bob Johnson on Sesame Street, a role he had for nearly half a century
Douglas Geoffrey McGrath (1958-2022), American Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Tony award, and Primetime Emmy Award winning screenwriter, film director, and actor
Matt McGrath (1875-1941), American winner of a gold and two sliver Olympic medals for hammer throw at 1908, 1912, and 1924 games
Patrick Joseph McGrath (b. 1945), American clergyman, Bishop of San José in California (1999)
Frank McGrath (1903-1967), American television actor
... (Another 92 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the McGrath family +

Centaur

George W. McGrath, Australian Private who survived when the ship "Centaur" an Australian hospital ship when torpedoed on 14th May 1943
Mr. John McGrath (d. 1914), British Assistant Steward from United Kingdom who worked aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 16
Captain Matthew McGrath (1879-1914), Canadian Second Class Passenger from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 17
Mr. Michael Stephen McGrath, Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 17
Mrs. Mary McGrath (1890-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 18
... (Another 5 entries are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sources +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Boyd
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 2nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/camden
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1835
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance