Mcgraw

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of Irish or Scottish origin, borne by various people ; a small village in Cortland County in the U.S. state of New York
2. An Irish or Scottish surname carried by many individuals ; a tiny community located in Cortland County, New York State
3. A hereditary family name of Gaelic origin ; a small rural village in central New York, in Cortland County

Etymology: Mac Craith is an Irish Gaelic surname meaning "son of Craith." The "Mac" prefix is the ordinary Gaelic marker of patrilineal descent, and "Craith" is a personal name whose meaning is uncertain, though it is often connected with the Irish word for "grace" or "favour." Mac Craith was then anglicised in several ways, including McGrath, McCraith, and McGraw, with the spelling "McGraw" most common in the United States. Because the surname spread through emigration, one spelling can point to different family lines. Irish and Scottish families who had the Gaelic name were not necessarily related, and surnames were often recorded inconsistently by clerks and census takers. The name is therefore a record of how a Gaelic patronymic was written down in English-speaking countries, not of a single family.