McNulty
Language(s)Irish
Origin
Meaning"son of the Ulsterman"[1]
Region of originUlster, Ireland
Other names
Variant form(s)McAnulty, McEnulty, (Donlevy)

McNulty is an Irish surname. It is derived from the Gaelic Mac an Ultaigh meaning "son of the Ulsterman".[1][2] Usually considered a branch of the Ulaid ruling dynasty of Mac Duinnshléibhe (MacDonlevy), a branch of Dál Fiatach, who fled Ulaid to Ailech after the former's conquest in 1177 by the Normans. DNA analysis points to descent from other Ulaid families as well.[3] After the Battle of Kinsale in 1602, some McDonlevys and McNultys migrated to the province of Connacht where their name is now also common.[4]

Origin

The name is said to have arisen from a branch of the ruling Ulaid dynasty of Mac Duinnshléibhe (MacDonlevy) who had migrated to what is now County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland after John de Courcy's conquest of Ulaid in 1177. Here some of the MacDonlevys were nicknamed Ultagh/Ultach.[3] However, historical records such as the 1659 "Census" as well as Griffith's Valuation (1848-1864) show that concentrations of McNultys were found in parts of Ireland where the MacDonlevys had little presence, coupled with DNA analysis showing that the McNultys may actually derive from other Gaelic families that migrated from Ulaid and not just the MacDonlevy's.[3] The names Ultagh/Ultach and Mac an Ultaigh applied to only those that fled Ulaid and was not used for those that remained.[3]

Regardless of their actual origin, the first McNulty to be recorded is found in the Annals of the Four Masters under the year 1281, where an "Murtough Macan-Ulty" is listed as a distinguished fatality at the battle of Desertcreagh in present-day County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.[3]

The probable transition of the name Mac an Ultaigh from the Ultagh MacDonlevy's can be seen around 1601 where one "Morris Ultagh" is recorded as "Morris m'Nich Ultagh".[3] The surname prefix "m'Nich" appears to be an English confusion of the female prefix Nic with the male prefix Mac.[3]

Other variant spellings of McNulty include McNaulty,[5] McNalty,[5] and rarely as O'Nalty,[6] Nolty,[6] McNult,[7] McEnulty and McKnulty.[6][8] and others.

In County Clare and its adjacent County Tipperary in the southwest of the Republic of Ireland, the toponymics Connoulty and Kinoulty are encountered, and are believed to be Anglicisations of Mac an Ultaigh.[citation needed]

Diaspora

By 1980, there were 19,469 persons surnamed McNulty in the United States Social Security Administration data base. The surname McNulty was, then, the 2332 most frequently occurring surname in that database.[7] Some of the first McNulty immigrants to North America arrived in Philadelphia and New York City in the very early 19th century[9][10][11] and, later, more numerously, in both Philadelphia and New York City between 1840 and 1860, during which period the Great Famine of Ireland occurred.[12][13]

There are an estimated 421 persons surnamed McNulty in Australia.[14] Denis McInulty, one of the first McNulty to arrive in Australia, arrived there from Scotland on 16 May 1846 on the prisoner transport the China under a 10-year sentence of the Glasgow Justiciary Court.[15]

In the United Kingdom the surname McNulty is shared by an estimated 7,318 people and is approximately the 1,472th most popular surname in the country.[14]

Notable McNultys

Actors

Musicians

Military

Politicians

Sportspeople

Writers

Other

Fictional characters

Places

McNulty rhyolite

Found in a single location on the earth's surface, that is McNulty Gulch near Leadville Colorado, McNulty rhyolite is a comparatively rare gem rock quality variety of rhyolite rock. McNulty rhyolite appears in the official U.S. Department of Interior, United States Geological Survey Lexicon of Geological Names of the United States.[21]

Nulty

This is a variant of McNulty. Notable bearers of the name are:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Robert Bell (2003). The book of Ulster Surnames. The Blackstaff Press. p. 180. ISBN 0-85640-602-3.
  2. ^ Neafsey, Edward (2002). The Surnames of Scotland: Origins and Numbers of Selected Irish Surnames. Irish Roots. p. 168. ISBN 9780940134973.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Paul B. McNulty, Emeritus Professor, University College Dublin. Origin of the Surname, McNulty, and its Association with the McDonlevys/Dunleavys of County Down. Vol. Appendix 1.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Robert Bell (2003). The book of Ulster Surnames. The Blackstaff Press. p. 60. ISBN 0-85640-602-3.
  5. ^ a b P. Hanks and F. Hodges (1988). A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 366–7. ISBN 0-19-211592-8.
  6. ^ a b c Rev. Patrick Woulfe, Priest of the Diocese of Limerick, Member of the Council, National Academy of Ireland (1967). Irish Names and Surnames. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, in Irish and English. pp. 125, 141, 319 and 356.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (anglicized from Irish "Ónultaċáin", at Mac Duinnshléibhe)
  7. ^ a b H. Robb; A. Chesler (1995). Encyclopedia of American Family Names. New England Publishing Associates, Inc. (Harper Collins). p. 488. ISBN 978-0-06-270075-9.
  8. ^ P. Hanks and F. Hodges (1988). A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 361. ISBN 0-19-211592-8.
  9. ^ P. William Filby; Mary K. Meyer, eds. (1981). Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, in 3 volumes with subsequent annual bound supplements. Vol. 2 (H-N). Detroit: Gale Research Company., p. 1412 McNulty, Dan'l (Philadelphia 1802), McNulty, James (Philadelphia 1813), McNulty, Sarah (New York 1823 with 3 children), p. 1539 Naulty, James (Philadelphia 1832), p. 1568 Nulty, Eugenius (Philadelphia 1834)
  10. ^ Michael Tepper, ed. (1979). New World Immigrants, in 2 volumes. Vol. II, Passenger Lists Published in the Shamrock or Irish Chronicle, for arrivals in New York, New York (before time of first official government compilations of arrival lists for port of New York). Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., (1811) p. 339, Mac annulty, James, noted arriving in New York, New York and (1815–1816) p. 359, MacAnalty, Patrick of Sligo, noted arriving in New York, New York, p. 362, MacNulty, Wm. of Tauley, noted arriving in New York, New York and from British Museum Transcripts, p. 313, McNalty, Hugh of Bangor, County Down, noted in 1806 departing Ulster for U.S. port unspecified
  11. ^ Carl Boyer, ed. (1977). Ship Passenger Lists, National and New England (1600–1825). Newhall, California. p. 121. ISBN 0-936124-00-8.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link), again, McNalty, Hugh, of Bangor, County Down, noted in 1806 departing Ulster for U.S. port
  12. ^ Ira A. Glazier, ed. (1983). The Famine Immigrants - Lists of Irish Immigrants Arriving at the Port of New York, 1846–1851, in multiple volumes. Vol. 1 (January 1846 – June 1847). Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN 0-8063-1024-3., Mcanulty pp. 27, 372, 424, 559, Mcnalty pp. 259, 410, 461, 501, Mcnulty pp. 49, 63, 67, 68, 74, 93, 94, 110, 139, 148, 151, 187, 211, 230, 250, 255, 292, 308, 332, 343, 363, 388, 403, 411, 423, 461, 468, 489, 516, 537, 544, 554, 576, 604, 617, Nulty pp. 14, 67, 101, 146, 150, 173, 185, 188, 200, 231, 455, 498, 533, 605, Vol. 2 (July 1847-June 1848) Mcanulty pp 252, 382, Mcnalty p. 256, Mcnaulty pp. 16, 138, Mcnultay p. 521, Mcnulty pp. 12, 18, 21, 94, 114, 120, 172, 201, 278, 282, 292, 451, 468, 507, 508, Nulty pp. 10, 45, 53, 89, 137, 293, 373, 375, 414, 450, 459
  13. ^ P. William Filby; Mary K. Meyer, eds. (1981). Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, in 3 volumes with subsequent annual bound supplements. Vol. 2 (H-N). Detroit: Gale Research Company. pp. 1412, 1539, and 1568.
  14. ^ a b "McNulty Stats". britishsurnames.co.uk.
  15. ^ "Australia Joint Copying Project, microfilm roll 92, class piece number HO 11/15, page number 11 (7) from British convict transport registers 1787-1867 data base compiled by State Library of Queensland from British Home Office, China departed Scotland 3 January 1846".
  16. ^ "Mid-Atlantic Superstar Wrestling Results - Ivan Koloff". www.midatlanticgateway.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2011.
  17. ^ James, E.T., James, J.W., and Boyer, P.S. (Eds). Notable American Woman 1607-1950 A Biographical Dictionary (Vol. 1 A-F). © 1971 Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, p. 352
  18. ^ [1][dead link]
  19. ^ A.H. Koschmann and M.H. Bergendahl Principal Gold Producing Districts of the United States (Geological Survey Professional Paper 610) Washington: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (1968) (Library of Congress catalog-card no. GS 68-341) p 117
  20. ^ [2][dead link]
  21. ^ Lexicon of Geological Names of the United States (Including Alaska) Part 2 M-Z (Geological Survey Bulletin 896) Mary Grace Wilmarth, compiler, p. 1260, United States Dept. of Interior, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office (1938) (Univ. of Mich., Digitized 18 February 2010)

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