McGee - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Mag Aoidh
Meaning: “son of Aodh - fire”
Traditional stronghold: Antrim, Donegal
Pronunciation: muh-GHEE (hard g); Irish Mag Aoidh: mag EE
History of the McGee name
Mag Aoidh means 'son of Aodh', an ancient personal name signifying 'fire'. This is an Ulster surname through and through: the spelling McGee predominates in the west of the province, in Donegal and Tyrone, while Magee is the usual form in Antrim and Down, where the family gave its name to Islandmagee, the peninsula north of Belfast Lough. The name also has a distinguished academic monument in Magee College, Derry, endowed by Martha Magee, the widow of a Presbyterian minister. McGees and Magees emigrated in great numbers to Scotland, Canada and the United States in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Variants: Magee · MacGee · McGhee
Famous bearers of the name
- Thomas D'Arcy McGee - Young Irelander who became a Father of Canadian Confederation, assassinated in Ottawa in 1868.
- Jimmy Magee - RTÉ sports broadcaster known as the Memory Man.
- Patrick Magee - Armagh-born actor celebrated for interpreting Samuel Beckett's work.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Gallagher · Quinn · Boyle · Doherty · Sweeney · O'Donnell · Duffy · McDonnell