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Irish surname

McGillicuddy: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Mac Giolla Chuda · 'son of Giolla Mhochuda' (servant of St. Mochuda, another name for St. Carthage of Lismore)

Woulfe (1923) gives MacGillycuddy as an anglicised form of Mac Giolla Chuda, 'son of Giolla Mhochuda', servant of St. Mochuda (St. Carthage of Lismore). He calls it the name of an old Kerry family, a branch of that of O'Sullivan More, whose head is known as MacGillycuddy of the Reeks. In 1890 all six McGillicuddy birth entries in Ireland were in Kerry.

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Coat of arms associated with the McGillicuddy surname
Irish formMac Giolla Chuda
Meaning'son of Giolla Mhochuda' (servant of St. Mochuda, another name for St. Carthage of Lismore)
CountiesKerry
Other spellings8
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McGillicuddy crest gifts

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Origin of the McGillicuddy name

Woulfe: 'the name of an old Kerry family, a branch of that of O'Sullivan More. The head of the family is known as MacGillycuddy of the Reeks.'[1]

  1. 636Four Masters: St. Mochuda (the saint in Woulfe's meaning of the name) died.[5]
  2. 1563Four Masters: O'Sullivan Beare (Donnell) was slain by 'Mac Gillycuddy'.[6]
  3. 1657Down Survey map names a 'mont. called Mc. Gully-Cudy his reeks'.[7]
  4. 1690Terry's 1690 list of Irish septs prints 'MAC GILLYCUDY', a close spelling.[4]
  5. 18906 McGillicuddy birth entries in Ireland, all in Kerry.[2]

Where in Ireland

Co. KerryWoulfe's 'old Kerry family'; all six McGillicuddy birth entries in 1890 were in Kerry.[1][2]

Notable people named McGillicuddy

Major John MacGillycuddyb. 1855Third son of Richard The MacGillycuddy of the Reeks; called to the Irish Bar 1882; High Sheriff of Co. Kerry 1892.[8]

Other spellings

MacGillycuddy · MacGillacuddy · MacGillecuddy · MacIllicuddy · MacElcuddy · MacElhuddy · M'Gillicuddy · M'Ellecuddy[1]

The McGillicuddy coat of arms

'MAC GILLYCUDY' is printed in the 'List of Names of Irish Septs as given in the Book of Arms, compiled by Sir James Terry, Athlone Herald (1690)', as reproduced by Matheson. That exact spelling is not printed elsewhere in the sources used here; the nearest is Woulfe's 'MacGillycuddy'. The list gives sept names only; it does not describe any arms, and it does not mean that everyone named McGillicuddy is entitled to a coat of arms.[4]

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the McGillicuddy surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.

McGillicuddy surname: questions

What does the surname McGillicuddy mean?

Woulfe gives MacGillycuddy as a form of Mac Giolla Chuda, 'son of Giolla Mhochuda', meaning servant of St. Mochuda, another name for St. Carthage of Lismore.[1]

Where is the McGillicuddy name from?

Co. Kerry. Woulfe calls it the name of an old Kerry family, a branch of the O'Sullivan More family, and in 1890 all six McGillicuddy birth entries in Ireland were in Kerry.[1][2]

Who is MacGillycuddy of the Reeks?

Woulfe says the head of the family is known as MacGillycuddy of the Reeks. The Placenames Database of Ireland lists Macgillycuddy's Reeks, a mountain range in Co. Kerry, and gives a historical form dated 1657 from the Down Survey: 'mont. called Mc. Gully-Cudy his reeks'.[1][7]

Who was St. Mochuda?

Woulfe says Mochuda is another name for St. Carthage of Lismore. The Annals of the Four Masters record the death of St. Mochuda, Bishop of Lis Mor, on 14 May 636.[1][5]

Sources

  1. Mac Giolla Chuda — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/macg/mac-giolla-chuda.php
  2. McGillicuddy — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/mcgillicuddy.php
  3. M'Gillycuddy — Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1901), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/varieties/list/1340.php
  4. List of Names of Irish Septs (Terry, 1690) — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/irish-septs.php
  5. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 636 (part 47) — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005A/text047.html
  6. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 1563 (part 7) — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005E/text007.html
  7. Macgillycuddy's Reeks — Placenames Database of Ireland, logainm.ie. logainm.ie/en/101312
  8. MacGillycuddy, Major John — Thom's Irish Who's Who (1923), Wikisource. en.wikisource.org/wiki/Thom's_Irish_Who's_Who/MacGillycuddy,_Major_...

Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).