26,810 Global NEELY Family Members

NEELY Family History

This surname recorded in the spellings of MacNealey, McNeilly, McNeillie, McNillie, McNeely, McNelly, Mcneely, Neilly, Neeley, Nealey, and Neely, derives from the famous clan name of 'Mac Conghaile'. The derivation is from the ancient Gaelic pre 10th century 'cu' meaning 'hound'. Broadly the translation is 'the son of the descendant of the hound'. The latter was probably a nickname for a chieftain who possessed the qualities associated with that animal, i.e. speed, tenacity, and strength. Most Irish surnames have developed a wide range of variant forms, and this is no exception. The name is (in all its forms) most associated now with County Antrim and County Tyrone, although it has been claimed that the descent may be from a Galway sept formerly 'Mac Conghaola', the name translation being the same...