McKinlay: Last Name Origin and Family Crest

Search old registers for McKinlay and you will soon meet McKinley too.

What does the surname McKinlay mean?

At root, the name means “Son of Finlay”. The 2010 US Census counted 769 people named McKinlay, ranking it number 30,390 among American surnames.

Is McKinlay the same name as McKinley?

McKinlay is listed among the recognised spellings of McKinley. Regional accents shaped spellings long before dictionaries fixed them. The same family of names includes MacKinlay, MacKinley and McGinley.

Does every McKinlay family have a crest?

Arms linked to McKinley and its spellings were granted to individual families; our heraldry team traces which line they belonged to.

For the full story, order the McKinlay surname pack.