Alay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland
• Scotland

Etymology of Alay

Many variations of the name Alay have evolved since the time of its initial creation. In Gaelic it appeared as Mac Amhalghaidh or Mac Amhlaoibh. The former name denotes a son of Auley, while the later denotes a son of Auliffe or a son of Humphrey. They claim descent through the Heremon line of Irish kings. 1

Early Origins of the Alay family

Early History of the Alay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Alay research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1787 and 1841 are included under the topic Early Alay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Alay Spelling Variations

Irish names were rarely spelled consistently in the Middle Ages. Spelling variations of the name Alay dating from that time include MacAulay, MacAwley, MacAuley, MacAullay, MacAulley, MacAwlay, MacCaulay, MacCawley, MacGawley, Magawley, Cauley, Caulay, McCamley and many more.

Early Notables of the Alay family

Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Alay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Alay family

To escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, thousands of Irish left their homeland in the 19th century. These migrants typically settled in communities throughout the East Coast of North America, but also joined the wagon trains moving out to the Midwest. Ironically, when the American War of Independence began, many Irish settlers took the side of England, and at the war's conclusion moved north to Canada. These United Empire Loyalists, were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Other Irish immigrants settled in Newfoundland, the Ottawa Valley, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, however, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America and Australia. Many of those numbers, however, did not live through the long sea passage. These Irish settlers to North America were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Alay or a variant listed above, including: James MacCauley settled in Charles Town in 1772 with his wife; Kenneth MacAulay settled in Philadelphia in 1774; Alexander, George, Henry, James, John, William MacAuley all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.