McNulty
A Scottish and Irish surname meaning “son of Nulty,” from an old Gaelic personal name of uncertain origin.
The #2,674 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 22,899 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McNulty is an Anglicized Gaelic patronymic. The prefix Mac or Mc means “son of,” while Nulty comes from an older personal name, usually treated as a reduced form of a Gaelic byname or given name now obscure in meaning. Because the second element is not clearly explained in the older sources, the surname is best treated as meaning “son of Nulty,” rather than as a transparent descriptive compound.
History
The surname is found in both Ireland and Scotland, and later spread through emigration to North America and elsewhere. Nineteenth-century name lists place it among the surnames recognized as Scottish/Irish in usage. Modern bearers are especially associated with Irish ancestry, though the name’s deeper origin is Gaelic and its precise early personal-name source remains uncertain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Gaelic surname can appear with several spellings in records, because the Mac/Mc prefix was often shortened or dropped inconsistently by clerks and emigrants.
From the historical record
“MacNeney, . MacNevin, . MacNulty, . MacOiraghty, MacOscar, MacOwen, . MacPartlan, MacQuade, .”
— Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (numerical strength, derivation, distribution)