WORLD
DISTRIBUTION
The
McGinley surname is principally a Donegal surname, and has been
such since the dawning of our clan in the 1200's, but it can now
be found all over the globe in English speaking countries. In its
native Donegal, nearly all of the name are spelt McGinley. Any other
form of the name would be extremely rare here. Equally so, the surname
in Scotland is usually found as McGinlay, and it is found in Donegal
among clan members who returned home to their roots. In the past
three hundred years, many variations of the name have developed,
as McGinleys have dispersed around the globe. The distribution of
the name McGinley (and its variant forms) is as follows ….
Ireland…The
vast majority of the name in Ireland, as much as 80%, are to be
found in the native homeland of Co Donegal. Today they are a little
more spread out from the original north Donegal area, with a good
number now in the towns of Letterkenny and Milford. The name is
well represented along the western coast especially in the town
of Dungloe. Most of the rest can be found in neighbouring Derry
and Tyrone counties.
SCOTLAND
The
vast majority of the name, at least 60%, are to be found in the
city of Glasgow. They have been there since the ‘Great Hunger’
in the mid 1800’s, although some isolated instances are found
before that date. Most seem to have first settled in the Pollock
and Pollockshaws areas of the city. Others are found in the greater
Lanarkshire area. In Scotland the name is found as McGinley but
McGinlay is by far the more common. Including England and Scotland
together, the vast majority of McGinleys, probably over 50% are
found in the Lanarkshire area, Glasgow in particular.
ENGLAND
The
vast majority of the surname McGinley are to be found in the north
of England where they have been since the Great Hunger. Records
for the year 1891 show that the county of Lancashire has had the
highest percentage of McGinleys, between 20% and 24%. Next to Lancashire
is the county of Durham which has the second highest groupings of
McGinleys with about 20%. Another neighbouring county, Cheshire,
has a further 15%. These three counties have around 60% of the McGinley
families in England.
In
the past 50 years, more McGinleys have settled in London for work
reasons.
AMERICA
The
vast majority (over 55%) of the name, in the year 1920, are to be
found in the state of Pennsylvania alone. Another 20 to 30% are
to be found in the neighbouring state of New York. Together these
two states must have at least 80% of the name in America. Earlier
in 1840 the state of Pennsylvania had an even higher percentage
at 60%+. From the New York Official Passenger Lists, it can be seen
that there was a steady flow of McGinleys into America from 1840
onwards with the peak period being 1881-1885. The name is found
as McGinley, Ginley, Ginly as well as the very rare variants (Mc)Ginnery
and McGuinley. The McGinley name has been recorded in America since
the early 1700’s.
CANADA
The
surname of McGinley (and its variants) are also to be found in Canada,
but there, they are no where near as prolific as in America. The
surname was found in Canada at a later date than in America. The
vast majority of McGinleys in Canada were to be found in the Ontario
area at the end of the nineteenth century and this is still the
case at the start of the twenty first century. The main city has
always been Toronto. A sizable amount are also located in nearby
New Brunswick.
AUSTRALIA
Families
and individuals of the McGinley name have also settled in Australia.
Maybe ‘settled’ would be a wrong word since Australia
was used as a dumping ground for those that the English Crown called
criminals. To the English, a criminal could be someone caught stealing
a loaf of bread to feed his starving children, or someone who could
not pay a ‘foreign rent’. He/she would be sent to the
other side of the world, never to see their families again. Many
cases are recorded of such abuse of power by the English. In Australia,
the vast majority of McGinleys, more than 70% are to be found in
New South Wales. Since the late 1850’s, with the help of the
Donegal Relief Fund, many ships left the north west of Ireland bound
for Australia with its new cargo of humans. Most of these had Donegal
surnames, including McGinley. They settled in the New South Wales
area, primarily in Sydney.
NEW
ZEALAND
It
would seem that most of the McGinleys who are found in New Zealand
settled there after having been in Australia first, possibly as
criminals who were later released. In New Zealand nearly all of
the McGinleys are recorded on the North Island. This is not surprising,
as the largest population concentration is here, especially around
Wellington.
The
first European settlers here arrived in September 1839. The earliest
McGinleys would have been around 1860, with the biggest influx happening
in the 1870's and 1880's.
WALES
The
Irish settlements in Wales can be traced back to the sixth century
when many Irish monks and then general settlers arrived from south
eastern parts of Ireland. The main settlement of Irish in Wales
however was much later. Most of the Irish/McGinley families in Wales
arrived there after the Great Hunger in the late 1840's. They would
have went to England at first and then later some moved to Wales,
probably for work related reasons, most notably in the coal mines.
Today, as in the last century, the vast majority of McGinleys are
to be found in or close to the city of Cardiff in the south of the
country.
