''MacAlley'' and ''McAlley'' are unisex

surnames In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

. There are several origins for the names.

Etymology

Both surnames can be derived from several Gaelic surnames.. In some cases the surnames are derived from the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

'' MacAmhalghaidh''. This name translates into English as "son of ''

Amhalghaidh Aulay is a Scottish masculine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic ''Amhladh'', ''Amhlaidh'', ''Amhlaigh'', and ''Amhlaibh''. The standard Irish Gaelic form of these names is ''Amhlaoibh'' (pronounced "ow-liv", and "owl-lee"); ...

''",, which is a transcription of: . or "son of ''

Amhalghadh Aulay is a Scottish masculine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic ''Amhladh'', ''Amhlaidh'', ''Amhlaigh'', and ''Amhlaibh''. The standard Irish Gaelic form of these names is ''Amhlaoibh'' (pronounced "ow-liv", and "owl-lee"); ...

''"., which cited: , for the surname "McCauley". The surname originated as a

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

, however it no longer refers to the actual name of the bearer's father. The

personal name A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...

''Amhalghaidh'' (also spelt ''Amhalghadh'') is an old

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

name, and is of uncertain origin and meaning. In other cases, the surnames are derived from the Scottish Gaelic '' MacAmhlaibh'' or '' MacAmhlaidh''. These surnames translate into English as "son of ''

Amhlaibh Aulay is a Scottish masculine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic ''Amhladh'', ''Amhlaidh'', ''Amhlaigh'', and ''Amhlaibh''. The standard Irish Gaelic form of these names is ''Amhlaoibh'' (pronounced "ow-liv", and "owl-lee"); ...

''", and "son of ''

Amhladh Aulay is a Scottish masculine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic ''Amhladh'', ''Amhlaidh'', ''Amhlaigh'', and ''Amhlaibh''. The standard Irish Gaelic form of these names is ''Amhlaoibh'' (pronounced "ow-liv", and "owl-lee"); ...

''" or "son of ''

Amhlaidh Aulay is a Scottish masculine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic ''Amhladh'', ''Amhlaidh'', ''Amhlaigh'', and ''Amhlaibh''. The standard Irish Gaelic form of these names is ''Amhlaoibh'' (pronounced "ow-liv", and "owl-lee"); ...

''". The surnames originated as a patronyms, however they no longer refer to the actual name of the bearer's father. The names ''Amhlaibh'', ''Amhladh'', and ''Amhlaidh'' are

derivatives of the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

personal name ''

Óláfr Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" ...

''.

People with the surname

;MacAlley ;McAlley * Nicola McAlley, Scottish, journalist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McAlley Patronymic surnames