McEvoy Surname Meaning & Origin
What the McEvoy last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the McEvoy last name
Meaning of the McEvoy last name: son of Fíodhbhuidhe ("woodsman"). McEvoy comes from the Gaelic Mac Fhíodhbhuidhe, from a personal name usually explained as "woodsman". The family belonged to the old territory of Laois in the Irish midlands, as one of its local clans. Later the name spread to Louth, Armagh and Down, and it is still frequent in Laois and Dublin. A curious detail: in the north the same name is often spelled McAvoy or McVeigh, so cousins may write it quite differently.
Arms associated with the McEvoy name
In Gaelic Ireland, arms were often linked with a whole sept, and families of the McEvoy name have long been associated with their own traditional shield.
Get your full McEvoy family history
This is only a glimpse of the McEvoy story. The full McEvoy 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 McEvoy coat of arms. Get the full McEvoy report.
McEvoy name FAQ
What does the McEvoy name mean?
Son of Fíodhbhuidhe ("woodsman"). Common variants include MacEvoy, McAvoy, McVeigh.
Where does the McEvoy surname come from?
It originates in Ireland, and is also found in the United States, England and Scotland.
Is there a McEvoy coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized McEvoy 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).