McHaffy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Etymology of McHaffy

What does the name McHaffy mean?

A people of the Scottish/English Borderlands known as the Strathclyde Britons were the first to use the name McHaffy. It is derived from the Gaelic personal name Debshithe, which means the black man of peace.

Early Origins of the McHaffy family

The surname McHaffy was first found in Wigtown (Gaelic: Siorrachd Bhaile na h-Uige), formerly a county in southwestern Scotland, now part of the Council Area of Dumfries and Galloway, where they held a family seat from very early times. This distinguished Clan was originally known as the Clan MacKilhaffy and held a family seat at Craig Caffe in the parish of Inch.

Early History of the McHaffy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McHaffy research. Another 148 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1320 and 1540 are included under the topic Early McHaffy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McHaffy Spelling Variations

Spelling and translation were hardly exact sciences in Medieval Scotland. Sound, rather than any set of rules, was the basis for spellings, so one name was often spelled different ways even within a single document. Spelling variations are thus an extremely common occurrence in Medieval Scottish names. McHaffy has been spelled Mahaffy, Mehaffy, MacHaffie, Mahaffie, McHaffie, MacHaffy, McHaffy, MacGilhaffie, McGilhaffie, MacGilhaffy, McGilhaffy, MacKilhaffy, McKilhaffy, MacKilhaffie, McKilhaffie, MacIlhaffie, McIlhaffie, MacIlhaffy, McIlhaffy, MacCaffee, McCaffee, MacCaffie, McCaffie, McCaffy, MacCaffy, Milhaffie, Milhaffy, Mahalfie, Mahalfy and many more.

Early Notables of the McHaffy family

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

Migration of the McHaffy family to Ireland

Some of the McHaffy family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the McHaffy family

Such hard times forced many to leave their homeland in search of opportunity across the Atlantic. Many of these families settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. The ancestors of many of these families have rediscovered their roots in the 20th century through the establishment of Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Among them: Martin and Martha Mahaffy and their daughter Mary who settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1767; Mary Mahaffy arrived in New York state in 1847.