McCarthy

M3C3C3A1R1T1H4Y4
UK/məˈkɑː.θi/US/məˈkɑɹ.θi/

proper noun

A surname from Irish.

CommonScrabble 20

Meanings

proper nounMcCarthy (countable and uncountable, plural McCarthys or McCarthies)

plural McCarthys · plural McCarthies · alternative Mc Carthy · alternative Mccarthy · alternative MacCarthy · alternative Mac Carthy · alternative Maccarthy · alternative M'Carthy · alternative MaCarthy · alternative Macarthy · alternative Carthy · alternative McCarty

  1. countableuncountableA surname from Irish.

    The McCarthys say they did not wish to publicize the incident, but the Catholic newspaper in Maine heard about it and wrote an article.

    1998 October 11, Laurie Goodstein, “Miracle in Massachusetts Qualified Stein for Sainthood”, in The New York Times
    1 more example

    Life is finally loose, one could say, liberated from its social constrains and sincere in its necessities, its insistence and its arrogative demands, but McCarthy also reveals the implications of life's liberation and, by the same token, unmasks any misplaced romanticisations regarding its disavowal in the polis:

    2019, Joe Trotta, Zlatan Filipovic, Houman Sadri, Broken Mirrors, page 1995
  2. countableuncountableA census-designated place in Copper River Census Area, Alaska, United States.

Origin

  1. IrishMac Carthaigh
  2. EnglishMcCarthy

Borrowed from Irish Mac Carthaigh (literally “son of Carthach”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 麥卡錫 /麦卡锡
  • 麥卡錫 /麦卡锡 (Màikǎxí)surname
Japanese マッカーシー
  • マッカーシー (Makkāshī)surname
Russian Макка́рти
  • Макка́рти (Makkárti)surname
Cite this entry
APA

McCarthy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/McCarthy

MLA

“McCarthy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/McCarthy. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “McCarthy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/McCarthy.

Source: McCarthy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.