McElroy Surname Meaning & Origin
What the McElroy last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the McElroy last name
Meaning of the McElroy last name: son of the red-haired lad. McElroy comes from the Gaelic Mac Giolla Rua, "son of the red-haired lad". The family belonged to County Fermanagh, around Lough Erne, and the name later spread to Leitrim, Cavan and Monaghan. In Antrim, Down and Scotland the same name is usually spelled McIlroy. A curious detail: that spelling became world famous through the golfer Rory McIlroy from County Down, so two very different-looking names share one red-haired ancestor.
Arms associated with the McElroy name
Irish heraldry often features hands, trees and animals drawn from old stories, and the arms associated with the McElroy name belong to that tradition.
Get your full McElroy family history
This is only a glimpse of the McElroy story. The full McElroy history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted McElroy coat of arms. Get the full McElroy report.
McElroy name FAQ
What does the McElroy name mean?
Son of the red-haired lad. Common variants include MacIlroy, McIlroy, Gilroy.
Where does the McElroy surname come from?
It originates in Ireland, and is also found in the United States, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Is there a McElroy coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized McElroy coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); US Census Bureau 2010.