Meaning of Last Name

Meaning: "Son of the Ulsterman"

McNulty (MacNulty) is an Irish surname. Spelling variations include: McAnulty and McNull among others. Modern spelling comes from the original Irish Mac an Ultaigh. The McNultys are a branch of the ancient Dál Fiatach rulers of the Ulaid. Mac an Ultaigh means "Son of the Ulsterman". They trace their descent from Fiatach Finn mac Dáire, a King of Ulster and High King of Ireland in the 1st Century AD. They were displaced as rulers of all Ulster by the Uí Néill Clan, which invaded from Connacht and Meath. They held great power as the royal family of Ulidia in County Down and South Antrim until 1177, where they were defeated by the Norman army and greatly reduced in power. After this defeat, the majority gathered themselves together and migrated to Donegal where they became hereditary physicians to the O’Donnells. Some of the first McNulty immigrants to North America arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860. In Great Britain the surname McNulty is shared by an estimated 7,888 people and is approximately the 1329th most popular surname in the country.