English
The surname McCarthy is of Irish origin. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Mac Carthaigh, a patronymic from the byname 'Carthach', meaning loving. MacCarthy is the most prominent Mac name in Ireland. Bearers of this name have been prominent in the history of Ireland from the earliest times to the present; and they have been described as the most eminent by far of the noble families of the south. The third century King of Munster, Oilioll Olum, had two sons Eoghan and Cormac Cas. The families descended from this Eoghan were known, before the introduction of surnames, as the Eoghanacht, and the surname McCarthy is derived from Carthach, lord of the Eoghannacht, who, the four masters tell us, met his death in a house deliberately set on fire by the Lonergans in 1045. It is the chief family of the Eoghanacht and one of the leading families of an area of Ireland called Munster. A bearer of this name, Justin Count MacCarthy ( 1744-1812 ), was a famous book collector who was enobled by Louis XVI. An American of worth who bore this name is that of a Charles MacCarthy (1873-1921 ), who was a distinguished political scientist. The name dates back to the twelfth century were a Douenald Roth Mackarthi is recorded in historical archives. This surname was brought to America predominately by Irish Immigrants. One of the first fore fathers to bring this name to America is that of a Thomas McCarthy, a schoolmaster, who emigrated to America aboard the Nancy; he settled in Maryland. This name is the two-hundredth and forty-seventh most common surname in America.