McCleary is an Irish surname. It originated in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

, Ireland, but the surname is primarily now found in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

with many descendants in Ulster Scots and Irish areas of North America. The name McCleary is derived from the Gaelic Mac Cléirigh which means ''Son of the Cleric (or Son of the Priest)''. The earliest derivation of the name is possibly Mael Fabhaill mac Cleireach, ancestor of the Ó hEidhin/

Hynes ''Hynes'' is a surname, many examples of which originate as the anglicisation the Irish language, Irish name ''Ó hEidhin''. Etymology According to the ''Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland'', the modern name ''Hynes'' and ...

family of County Galway, fl. 800. However, many surnames such as

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...

and MacTaggart also derive from ''son of the cleric'' or ''son of the priest''. Orphans were often taken in by the local religious orders, and indeed priests fathered children before the adoption of celibacy, which may be the source of variations of this surname. ]

List of persons with the surname

Andrew McCleary Andrew McCleary (1863 – 1944) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1927 to 1932, as a member of the Progressive Party. Born in Shelburne, Canada West, McCleary came to Minitonas, M ...

(1863–1944), Canadian politician *

Boyd McCleary William Boyd McCleary (born 30 March 1949) is a retired member of HM Diplomatic Service originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland. In September 2010 he was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of the British government, to represent ...

(born 1949), British diplomat, governor of the British Virgin Islands *

Brian Verdon McCleary Brian Verdon McCleary (17 January 1897 – 2 July 1978) was a New Zealand rugby union player and boxer. He was a member of the All Blacks in 1924 and 1925, playing in the hooker position. He was also a New Zealand and Australasian amateur and ...

(1897–1978), New Zealand rugby player * Christopher R. McCleary (born 1956), American venture capitalist * Ernie McCleary (1923–2012), Northern Irish footballer *

Garath McCleary Garath James McCleary (born 15 May 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Wycombe Wanderers. Born in England, he represented the Jamaica national team. Club career Early career McCleary was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire. ...

(born 1987), Jamaican professional Association footballer * George W. McCleary (1807–1873), American politician * James McCleary (1853–1924), United States Representative from Minnesota * Mary McCleary (born 1951), American artist * Rachel McCleary, American academic * Tracy McCleary (died 2003), American jazz band leader *

Trent McCleary Trent Kenneth McCleary (born September 8, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). His career was ended in 2000 after h ...

(born 1972), Canadian former professional hockey player *

Urie McCleary Urie McCleary (July 10, 1905 – December 12, 1980) was an American art director. He won two Academy Awards and was nominated for four more in the category Best Art Direction. He was born in Arkansas and died in Los Angeles, California. Selec ...

(1905–1980), American art director and designer in Hollywood *

William McCleary William McCleary (November 5, 1853 – May 22, 1917) was an Ontario merchant and political figure. He represented Welland in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Conservative member from 1890 to 1894 and in the House of Commons of C ...

(1853–1917), Canadian merchant and politician

Places

McCleary, Washington McCleary () is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,997 at the 2020 census. History Henry McCleary came to the land in 1897, building two sawmills and a door manufacturing company. He sold the land an ...

, United States *

McCleary Glacier McCleary Glacier () is a broad glacier about long, draining southward into Darwin Glacier, Antarctica, just west of Tentacle Ridge. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly ...

, Antarctica

References

* ''Clerical Households in Late Medieval Italy'', Roisin Cossar,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:McCleary Irish families Surnames of Irish origin Surnames of British Isles origin Anglicised Scottish Gaelic-language surnames

List of persons with the surname

Places

See also

References