McIlroy: Last Name Origin and Family Crest

Some records give McElroy; others give McIlroy. Both point to the same Irish family name. Its meaning, shared with McElroy, is “Son of the red-haired lad”.

Spelling and variants

McIlroy writes “i” in place of the “e” found in McElroy, a typical scribal difference. Regional accents shaped spellings long before dictionaries fixed them. You may also find the name written MacIlroy, MacElroy and Gilroy.

1,151 Americans were listed as McIlroy in the 2010 census.

Family crest and blazon

There is no single McIlroy family crest for every bearer. Herald Lab researches the arms historically associated with the name and explains whose they were.

Want more than a summary? See the McIlroy family name pack.