McCleary

McCleary is an Irish surname. It originated in Galway, Ireland, but the surname is primarily now found in Ulster and Scotland with many descendants in Ulster Scots and Irish areas of North America. [1]

The name McCleary is derived from the Gaelic Mac Cléirigh which means Son of the Cleric (or Son of the Priest).

The earliest derivation of the name is possibly Mael Fabhaill mac Cleireach, ancestor of the Ó hEidhin/Hynes family of County Galway, fl. 800.

However, many surnames such as Clarke and MacTaggart also derive from son of the cleric or son of the priest. Orphans were often taken in by the local religious orders, and indeed priests fathered children before the adoption of celibacy, which may be the source of variations of this surname. [2]