Mcgrath

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic Mac Craith, meaning son of the grey-haired or battle-hardened man
2. An Irish-origin surname borne by many people, traditionally rooted in the Gaelic name Mac Craith
3. A common surname of Irish descent that carries the sense of a son of a person named Craith in Gaelic tradition

Etymology: McGrath is an Irish surname, and its core is the Gaelic personal name "Mac Craith." The first element, "mac," means "son of," so the name means "son of Craith" or "son of Grath." The second element is a personal name whose meaning is uncertain. Some scholars connect it to a word for "grace" or "favour," but this is not settled, so the surname's meaning should be read as "son of Craith" rather than as a confirmed translation. The name is especially common in Ireland and among Irish diaspora communities, reflecting the long tradition of Gaelic surnames built with "Mac" or "Ó" from a named ancestor. Spelling variants such as "McGraw" and "Magraw" show how the name was written differently across regions and over time, as English-language record keeping took hold and Gaelic spellings were anglicised.