7,842 Global MCILROY Family Members

MCILROY Family History

Recorded in an amazing number of spellings including MacIlroy, MacElroy, McIlroy, McElroy, McLeroy, McGilroy, McAlroy, McAlvey, MacElvey, McKelvie, McKelvy, McLevie, McLevy, and probably others, this is both a Scottish and Irish surname. It is a developed form of the Gaelic "Mac giolla Ruaidh", composed of the elements "Mac", meaning son of, "giolla", the youth, and "ruaidh", red haired; hence, "The son of the red haired youth". In Scotland the clan originated from Ballantrae in Aryrshire as shown below, whilst in Ireland it is first recorded in County Fermanagh, where the place Ballymackilroy is to be found, although there are two other places so named in County Tyrone and County Antrim...