Mcnally Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Mcnally Family History

Mcnally Family History

The McNally ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name McNally include McAnally, Nally, McNallie, McInallie, McInally and several others. These names are anglicized forms of the Gaelic Mac an Fhailghigh sept name which translates from the Gaelic word 'failgheach' meaning 'poor man'.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

These families had several different origins in Ireland. One group were of Norman origin and when they settled in Counties Mayo and Roscommon they acquired the Gaelic name now borne by them. Another group were found in Ulster Province in the Counties of Armagh and Monaghan and were of the Gaelic Mac Con Ulaidh sept, meaning 'son of the hound of Ulster'. In modern times bearers of the name are most numerous in this part of the country. In the census of 1659 the name appears in the form of Knally as a principal name in Westmeath. The McNally family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including McNally descendants.