McBride Surname Meaning & Origin
What the McBride last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the McBride last name
Meaning of the McBride last name: son of the devotee of Saint Brigid. The McBride surname comes from Gaelic Mac Giolla Bhríde, "son of the devotee of Saint Brigid", one of Ireland's best-loved saints. A Donegal family of the name kept church lands there, and the last name is still common in Donegal, Antrim and Down. A Scottish family of McBrides also settled in Ulster. A curious detail: the old Donegal church lands of the family included remote Tory Island.
Arms associated with the McBride name
Irish heraldry blends Gaelic and Anglo-Norman traditions, and coats of arms associated with the McBride surname draw on both, each set out in a short blazon.
Get your full McBride family history
This is only a glimpse of the McBride story. The full McBride 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 McBride coat of arms. Get the full McBride report.
McBride name FAQ
What does the McBride name mean?
Son of the devotee of Saint Brigid. Common variants include MacBride, Gilbride, Kilbride.
Where does the McBride surname come from?
It originates in Ireland, and is also found in the United States, Scotland and England.
Is there a McBride coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized McBride coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Patrick Woulfe, Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames (1923); MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland; George F. Black, The Surnames of Scotland (New York Public Library, 1946).