I would like to add a question or so on this subject, if I may politely do so. My last name is MacMurray, however in the census records here in the U.S. my family used the spelling McMurray until around the 19th century. I've done quite a bit of research on my family line, and its true that at least my McMurray's came from a Presbyterian church.
Now, I have one question. I've asked this quite a bit around the internet to different sites, and I usually get different answers, but I was hoping by asking someone in Ireland, I may get the right answer, or at least one that is more reliable. Where did the McMurray surname come from? Here's what I've concluded. First of all, no it didn't come from the Murray surname of northern Scotland. However, it seems to have come from MacMuireadhaigh. Muireadhaigh, the name, somehow comes from a bardic family of the Galloway area of Scotland.
Originally, this name came from another historical figure known as Muiredach O'Daly [1180 - 1222 AD]. This O'Daly fellow fled Ireland for killing a man for various reasons. You can read more about it here: http://www.clancurrie.com/history.html. After fleeing as far south of Ireland as he could go, he took a boat, or ship, to Scotland. Once he arrived, he met and became great friends with the Donalds, and eventually became their bard. He then remarried, gave them his name, Mhuireadhaigh, which later became Mac Muireadhaigh through later generations.
Whether any of this is true or not is debatable, but it is what I have concluded based on what I know. Which brings me back to my question, where did the McMurray's come from? If my hypothesis is true, then this would explain where all of the McMurray's came from. Notice, too, that the O'Muireadhaigh's came after the MacMuireadhaigh's. My suggestion is that this is because the MacMuireadhaigh's in Scotland, by the 15 or 16th century or so, had hard times and went back to Ireland, near the Down area. In Black's Dictionary of Scottish Names, he claims the MacMurray's also originated in Galloway, which again would offer more evidence for my hypothesis.
In any case, I'm working on the historicity of the MacMurray's (McMurray's) and I've started a group on facebook called the MacMurray Genealogical Project. You can search for it there. I'm hoping to use this as a mechanism for uniting other MacMurray's around the world and come to the true answer to our heritage and history. If what I've presented is at all true, then we came from one of the most respected bardic family's of not only Ireland, but also Scotland. But, the research is still crawling along, as I'm still trying to gather as much information as possible for it. Anything you can add would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
