The story
- Irish · derived fromMac Giolla Uidihir“son of the servant of (Saint) Odhar”
- English todayMcAleer
Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic and Northern Irish Mac Giolla Uidihir (“son of the servant of (Saint) Odhar”), a byname from odhar (“dun; dull, dark”). Compare McLear and McClure.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.