Scally (also spelled Skelly or Skally) and "Ni Sceallaígh” in Irish and “Ni Scalaí” in modern Irish
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surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

of Irish origin.

Origins

The surname Scally is an

anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

version of the

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

"Mac Scalaíghe ", which means "Son of the Storyteller". It was first found in

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

. The variations of the name were formed when church officials spelled the names as they were pronounced, which caused many different spellings of the surname.

Variations

The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Mac Scalaíghe, which was dated around 1100 by the Ancient Records of Westmeath during the reign of High Kings of Ireland. The clan were forced to spread out due to Anglo-Norman pressure but many remained in the Midlands. The form Scales is found mainly in

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

The form Skelly is found mainly in Counties

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

and

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

. Scally also found in County Antrim and Down.

Notable people surnamed Scally

Academia

* Gabriel Scally (physician) (born 1954), Irish public health physician

Arts and entertainment

Alex Scally Alex Kristian Scally (born July 15, 1982) is an American multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He is known as the co-writer, guitarist and backing vocalist of the dream pop band Beach House, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums. Early ...

(born 1982), American musician * Caroline Scally (1886–1973), Irish artist *

Gwyneth Scally Gwyneth Scally (born in Washington, DC) is a visual contemporary artist in New York, United States. Artwork Scally's work is figurative and psychological, much of it deals with elevating biology over religion and with issues of nature and ecolo ...

, American artist

Sport

* Cathal Scally, (born 1994), Irish hurler * Ciaran Scally, Irish rugby player in the 1990s * Gabriel Scally (field hockey) (born 1947), Argentine field hockey player *

Joseph Scally Joseph Michael Scally (born December 31, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a full-back for club Borussia Mönchengladbach and the United States national team. Club career New York City Scally signed his first profe ...

(born 2002), American soccer player *

Luis Scally Luis Scally (26 June 1915 – 8 July 1994) was an Argentine field hockey player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded ...

(1915–1994), Argentine field hockey player *

Neil Scally Neil Scally (born 14 August 1978, in Paisley) is a Scottish football coach and former player. Scally played for Ayr United, Dumbarton, Falkirk and Queen of the South. Career Scally started his playing career with Ayr United and then Dumba ...

(born 1978), Scottish footballer *

Paul Scally Paul Damien Phillip Scally (born ) is a London-born businessman who served as the chairman of Gillingham Football Club between 1995 and 2022. Career Scally became wealthy through the sale of his Metronote photocopier business in South London a ...

, businessman, chairman of Gillingham Football Club in Kent, England *

Tommy Scally Tommy Scally (28 June 1927 – 26 March 1977) was an Argentine field hockey player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially bran ...

(1927–1977), Argentine field hockey player

References

{{reflist

External links

History of the surname Scally
Surnames Surnames of Irish origin