McCurdy
A Scottish and Irish surname usually explained as a clan-style name associated with Mac/Mc forms and often treated as a variant spelling of MacCurdy.
The #2,880 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,773 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is generally taken as a Mac/Mc surname, with the first element meaning “son of” in Gaelic. Historical writers have linked McCurdy to Gaelic forms written MacCurdy, MacKurdy, or MacKirdy, but the exact second element is not securely established from the excerpts provided. In older surname literature, such names are often grouped with Scottish or Irish patronymics that were later Anglicized in several spellings.
History
The surname appears in the historical record in several Anglicized spellings, showing the usual instability of Gaelic names when rendered into English. The sources here mention McCurdy alongside forms such as MacCurdy, MacKurdy, and MacKirdy, suggesting close variant treatment rather than a wholly separate origin. In the United States it remains a relatively uncommon surname but is well established in families of Scottish or Irish descent.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname writers sometimes grouped McCurdy with other Mac-names in lists of related Gaelic forms, which is why its spelling history can look surprisingly fluid.
From the historical record
“Mortimer. triAC TiluiiiccAHCAij, MacCurdy, MacKurdy, MacKirdy. TUac t"nt}i|ieAT)Ai5, MacMurry, MacMorry, MacMorray, Mac Murray ; MacMorrow ; Murry,”
— Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish names and surnamesNotable people named McCurdy
- Jennette McCurdy (b. 1992)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.