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Distribution of McGoughs in the United States by Hugh McGough

The Irish name Mac Eochadha was anglicized as McGough, McGeough and McGeogh in Ireland. In Irish records, these anglicized surnames were sometimes used interchangeably to describe not only members of the same family, but also to describe the same person. In Ireland, McGeough is now the predominant form of the name. In the United States, McGough has always been the most common version of the name. See the page in this website entitled Origin of the Surname McGough.

In the US, the name has sometimes been changed to McGoff and McGue. Below is a Table of Geographic Distribution with some indicators of the numerical and geographical distribution in the United States of the names McGough, McGeough, McGeogh, McGoff and McGue. After the table, I list several other possible variations of the name.

Sources of Information

A sampling by the US Census Bureau ranks McGough as the 4,927th most frequently occurring surname in the United States. McGeough ranks 50,498th; McGoff, 39,929th; and McGue, 50,491st. McGeogh was "not found." McGough comprises 0.002% of the frequently occurring surnames in the population sample. The other surnames are rounded off as as 0.000. The rankings are based on a limited sampling and the estimates become less reliable as the number of surnames grows smaller. See Frequently Occurring First Names and Surnames from the 1990 Census and Maps & Geography - Surname Maps on Cyndi's List..

In U.S. Surname Distribution, formerlyn a web page of Hamrick software, the relative distribution of surnames at various times in the United States can be displayed by state on a map. The distribution of the McGough surname in the 1880 US census is shown to be about one McGough for each 1000 surnames in Pennsylvania and Georgia, and about 1 in 5000 in New York. Based on 1990 telephone listings, the highest percentage of population with the name McGough was in Alabama, followed by Arkansas. Other states with a relatively high percentage of McGoughs include Louisiana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.

The Ancestry.com census index: 1790–1870, when it was available on a combined basis, allowed us to count the number of times each name appeared in each state between 1790 and 1870. This data is set out in the second column of the table below. The Social Security Death Index, also published by Ancestry.com, sets out the name, date of birth, date of death, place of registration, and sometimes the place of residence on death, of all social security registrants who died between 1937 and June, 1999. The Social Security Death Index through June of 1999 lists 1333 McGoughs, 140 McGeoughs, 8 McGeoghs, 154 McGoffs, and 118 McGues. In the third column of the table below, I set out the number of each of these names that is listed for each state.

By way of comparison, the Social Security Death Index lists 17,896 McGees and 5,332 McHughs, names that describe different septs than do McGough, McGeough, McGeogh, McGoff and McGue.

The People Search feature of Switchboard provides a free national directory of US residential information, and permits the looking up of names, street addresses, and phone numbers of persons throughout the United States. In the fourth column in the table below, I provide the number of listings in Switchboard on December 31, 1999, of McGoughs, McGeoughs, McGeoghs, McGoffs and McGues in each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia.

Another US residential directory available on the internet is Anywho. In the fifth column of the table, I list the number of McGoughs shown in each state by Anywho on December 31, 1999. On the assumption that the results would largely duplicate the results from Switchboard, and partly because Anywho seemed quirky when I tried to use it with my Netscape browser, I did not check the McGeoughs, McGeoghs, McGoffs and McGues on Anyhow.

Interpreting the Table

In the second, third, and fourth columns of the table, I enter the names from right to left as follows: the first number on the right, a number without brackets, is the number of McGoughs. Moving to the left, the number of McGeoughs, if any, is enclosed in parenthesis, (1); then the number of McGeoghs is enclosed in brackets, [1]; then the number of McGoffs is enclosed in braces, {1}, and then the number of McGues is enclosed between vertical lines, |1|. For example, in the third column, Social Security Death Index, after Pennsylvania, we find: |1| {29} [3] (4) 230. Starting from the right, this means 230 McGoughs, 4 McGeoughs (  ), 3 McGeoghs [  ], 29 McGoffs {  }, and 1 McGue |  |.

There are some McGoughs in every state, so there will always be an unenclosed Arabic number at the right margin of columns 2, 3, 4 and 5. In columns 2, 3 and 4, if there is no entry in the right to left progression of enclosed numbers in the sequence described in the preceding paragraph, the entry is 0. For example, in the row for Pennsylvania, in the fourth column, Switchboard, we find: {27} (4) 202. Starting from the right, this means 202 McGoughs, 4 McGeoughs (  ), 0 McGeoghs [  ], 27 McGoffs {  }, and 0 McGues |  |. If I had used 0s in preparing the table, the entry would have been: |0| {27} [0] (4) 202.

Another illustration: in column 2 headed Ancestry.com census index: 1790–1870, the entries in the row for New York, |31| {11} [3] (2) 37, mean: 31 McGues |  |, 11 McGoffs {  }, 3 McGeoghs [  ], 2 McGeoughs (  ), and 37 McGoughs. In column 3, Social Security Death Index, the entries for Wisconsin, {2} (1) 16, mean: 0 McGues |  |, 2 McGoffs {  }, 2 McGeoghs [  ], 1 McGeough (  ), and 16 McGoughs.

A ready reference to the symbols is given here and at the beginning of the table:

McGoughs

A study of the table below provides some interesting insights. The number of McGoughs is relatively high in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. Many of these McGoughs, as well as those in Kentucky and Tennessee, are doubtless descendants of Robert and Sarah Matilda Carson McGough who emigrated from county Down in 1773. See my page: McGoughs in Pre-Revolutionary America: Robert and Sarah Matilda Carson McGough; see also A Scots-Irish John McGough on this website, and The McGough Family Page. See also A Glimpse of the Past: Descendants of Robert McGough (b 1725 Northern Ireland) by Carolyn McGough Rowe (Anundsen Publishing Co., Decorah, IA, 1988. Order from Carolyn McGough Rowe, 5745 Talquin Ave., Pensacola, FL 32506.)

McGeoughs

The only state where McGeoughs outnumber McGoughs is Rhode Island, home of the family of Ann McGeough Harney, author of the Monaghan - the County, Ireland, and the accompanying McGeough - What's in a name? websites. In her page McGeough's from Rhode Island and Monaghan, she says that her grandfather, Peter James McGeough, was born in Phoenix, RI, as Peter James Goff, on September 20, 1869, and christened as Peter James Gough on September 21, 1869. She says that her grandfather "... was baptized as Goff, schooled as McGough, and married as McGeough."

Peter had five older brothers and sisters who were born in county Monaghan, Ireland. Ann McGeough Harney publishes a picture of Peter James McGeough and describes him as the "first born in the US." He married Rose Smyth Floody (1874–1937) on June 28, 1900, in Providence, Rhode Island. He died on January 20, 1953, and is buried as Peter J. McGeough in St. Patrick's Cemetery, East Greenwich, Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Cemeteries Database records his gravestone as showing a life span from 1874 to 1953, but when his birth certificate was found by Ann Harney sometime after his burial, the correct year of birth was shown to be 1869. Another member of the family, a brother of Arthur McGeough also named Peter who worked for the Boston Globe, also used the surname Goff. Ann McGeough Harney says that many other members of her family used the name Gough, possibly to facilitate pronunciation or to sound less like Irish immigrants. I found 19 McGeoughs and 10 McGoughs in the database of The Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Transcription Project.

Another state with a relatively high proportion of McGeoughs is Iowa. Most of the Iowa McGeoughs are probably descendants of Bridget McGeough (#320), and her sons Bernard (Bryan) McGeough (#321) and Francis McGeough (#322), who in about 1833 moved from the townland of Drumbeo in the parish of Clontibret, county Monaghan, Ireland, to Lindsay, Ontario. (The numbers after the surnames refer to lines in my table McGoughs, McGeoughs, and McGeoghs in Ireland in the 1820–30s and 1850–60s: By County, Parish, and Townland.) Beginning around 1851, these McGeoughs moved, with a large number of their families, to Allamakee County, Iowa, and the town of Ackley, Iowa The history of these Iowa McGeoughs is given in McGeough: The Story of an Irish Family by Phyllis McGeough Devereux (1992), and is summarized in my web page Michael McGough and Rosanna Halton of Lindsay, Ontario; their son John Joseph McGough of Eau Claire, Wisconsin under the heading Bridget McGeough and Her Four Sons. Some of these McGeoughs moved on to South Dakota and California which helps account for the number of McGeoughs in those states. (See my page: McGoughs in Iowa in the 1900 Census of the United States and the 1915 State Census of Iowa.)

McGeoghs

No significant number of families have used the McGeogh form of the name in the United States.

McGoffs

McGoff {  } is a form of McGough or McGeough (  ) used mostly in New York and Pennsylvania. In Passenger & Immigration Ship Lists: Irish to America 1846–1865, Michelle McGoff, in her IrishMcGoff.com website (now inactive), had documented the emigration of her family from Donaghmoyne parish in county Monaghan to New York, and the change of name of her part of her family from McGeough/McGough to McGoff. In her website, she lists 22 McGoffs who emigrated to the United States and Canada. I do not know whether these persons used the McGoff form of the name in Ireland, but would guess that the spellings were mostly phonetic interpretations of McGough or McGeough that were imposed, or voluntarily adopted, as or after the person left Ireland. Most of the McGoffs in these ship lists are young children.

Michelle McGoff's website showed that three brothers were buried under three different surnames. James McGough (1879–1966) is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Broome County, Johnson City, New York. His brother Frank McGeough (1880–1960) is buried in Old St. Patrick's Cemetery Broomfield, county Monaghan. Their brother Owen Joseph McGoff (1885–1958) is buried in the same cemetery as his brother James, Calvary Cemetery in Broome County, Johnson City, New York. Michelle McGoff's website, when active, gave a lively and detailed history of her family, which is also a history of the McGoffs in New York. She traced her ancestry back to her great-great-great-grandparents, Peter and Bridget McGeough, in the townland of Knockreagh Lower, Donaghmoyne Parish, county Monaghan, Ireland. Peter and Bridget are listed as McGoughs, not McGeoughs, in 1823 in this townland in the Tithe Applotment Books. See McGoughs, McGeoughs, and McGeoghs in Ireland in the 1820–30s and 1850–60s: By County, Parish, and Townland, # 357 and #360.

Michelle's great-great-great grandfather, Michael McGeough, was born to Peter and Bridget McGeough in about 1806 in the townland of Knockreagh Lower. Regarding the 1823 listing of Peter and Bridget in the Tithe Applotment Books, Michelle says: "Michael was no doubt living there at that time as a young man of 17 working as a farmer with the rest of the family." Michael McGough is listed by Griffith's Valuation as leasing land in Knockreagh Lower in 1861, along with James McGough, probably his brother. See McGoughs, McGeoughs, and McGeoghs in Ireland in the 1820–30s and 1850–60s: By County, Parish, and Townland, #359 and #358. Michael's brothers and sisters, the other children of Peter and Bridget McGeough, were: Peter, who was born about 1810 and died about 1864; Patrick, who was born about 1815 and died about 1870; Dennis, who was born about 1820 and died about 1880; and James, who was born about 1825 and died about 1910.

Michael and his wife, Ann Woods, had 7 children: Michael (1830?–?), John (1834–1921), James (1840–1885), Rose (1841–?), Peter (1844–1909), Patrick William (1849–1927) and Mary (1851–?). Michael, John, James, Peter, and Patrick William, emigrated to the United States. John McGough is buried in Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Fayetteville, Onondaga County, New York (town of Manlius). Patrick William is buried as Patrick W. McGough in St. Peter and Paul's Cemetery, Elmira, Chemung County, New York.

Michael's son Peter McGeough was Michelle McGoff's great-grandfather. Peter McGeough was born in about 1844 in Donaghmoyne Parish. In about 1872, he married Anna McEneaney in St. Patrick's Church, Donaghmoyne Parish. Their children were: Michael (1873–1970), Patrick John (1876–1955), James (McGough) (1879–1966), Peter (1876–), Owen Joseph (McGoff) (1885–1958), and Francis (McGeough) (1888–1960). Michael and Patrick left the farm in Ireland in 1900 to live in Elmira, New York, near their uncles, James and Patrick William McGough. Francis remained in Ireland and is buried under the name Frank McGeough in Old St. Patrick's Cemetery Broomfield, county Monaghan (gravestone #1).

Owen Joseph McGeough, son of Michael McGeough and Anna McEneaney, was born on February 4, 1885, in the townland of Knockreagh-Lower, county Monaghan. His baptismal sponsors were Patrick and Mary McGeough. He is Michelle McGoff's great-grandfather. At about the age of 21, in May of 1906, he emigrated from Knockreagh Lower to the United States, sailing on the Teutonic from Liverpool to New York City, in the company of his older brother James and his cousin Bessie. He moved on to Binghamton, New York, where he first lived as a boarder at the home of Catherine (McGeough) Woods, a first cousin of his father, Peter McGeough. He is listed as Owen McGough in the 1920 census of Binghamton, but as Owen McGoff in the 1930 census. He died in Johnson City, Broome County, New York, on July 14, 1958, at the age of 73, and is buried under the names Owen McGoff in Calvary Cemetery in Johnson City. His older brother James McGeough/McGough emigrated to the United States on the same ship with Owen, lived with or near his brother Owen in Binghamton, New York, but did not adopt the name McGoff. He is buried under the name James McGough in the same cemetery where his brother is buried under the name Owen Joseph McGoff.

Gehue McGoff (McGough), was a 1st Lieutenant in Company H, 30th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Confederate States Army. The company was formed during the early summer of 1862 at Jonesboro, Arkansas. He enlisted on July 10, 1862 at Jonesboro—surrendered May 11, 1865—and was paroled May 25, 1865 at Wittsburg. He was described as follows: age 35, blue eyes, black hair, fair complexion, height 5' 8", born in Alabama.

McGues

McGues | | are concentrated mostly in Ohio, where |10| are shown in column 2, the 1790–1870 census index; |34| are shown in column 3, the Social Security Death Index; and |42| are shown in column 4, Switchboard People Search. In the early censuses, the McGues |10| in Ohio outnumbered the McGoughs 10 to 3. In the more recent measurements in columns 3 and 4, the McGoughs outnumber the McGues in a ratio of almost 2 to 1. This indicates either that some McGues changed their names to the earlier form, McGough, or that there has been an influx of McGoughs into Ohio since 1870.

The name McGue apparently was never used in Ireland. Theo McMahon of the Monaghan Research Centre, the preeminent genealogist in county Monaghan, in an email of March 8, 2000, to Patricia McGue Phillips, says that he has never come across the surname McGue in Ireland. The Ohio name McGue has been described by a family member as the "USA version" of McGough and McGeough.

McGue or Mc Gue (with a space) is found fairly often in the censuses of England, and my guess is that this is more often than not a phonetic rendering of McGough by the census enumerator. For example, the 1881 census of the village of Port Clarence, county Durham, England (parliamentary division of South Durham, rural sanitary district of Stockton, ecclesiastical district of Haverton Hill, civil parish of Cowpen Bewley), lists: John Mc Gue, married, age 36, a furnaceman (iron), born in county Tyrone, Ireland, with his wife, Ellen Mc Gue, age 30, born in Newcastle, Northumberland county, England; and their three children, all of whom were born in Port Clarence, Durham county, England: Mary Mc Gue. age 5; Hugh Mc Gue, age 3; and Ann Mc Gue, age 6 months. Mc Gue is a mistake, a phonetic spelling of McGough. See: Hugh McGough [1878] on my page Hugh McGoughs in History and the entry for John McGough under Allegheny county, Pittsburgh, 12th ward, on my page: McGoughs and McGues in the 1900 Census of the United States—Pennsylvania.

Patricia McGue Phillips is the great-granddaughter of Hugh and Mary Halpin McGue. She says her great-grandfather Hugh was born in county Monaghan in 1821, and her grandmother, Mary Halpin McGue, was born in county Monaghan in 1822. Hugh McGue was born with the name McGough in Killanny Parish, which straddles the border between counties Monaghan and Louth. For a list of some of the many McGoughs in Killanny Parish in the 1800s, look under the barony of Farney in McGoughs, McGeoughs, and McGeoghs in County Monaghan in the 1820–30s and 1850–60s: By Barony, Parish, and Townland (lines 399 to 431). Hugh and Mary Halpin McGue emigrated to the United States in 1849 (or within a few months before or after — see the discussion under Ohio, Erie county, township of Milan, on my page on the 1860 census). Emigrating from Ireland with them was Mary Halpin McGough's brother, James Halpin, and his wife, Catherine Farnan Halpin. Thomas McGue, the brother of Patricia McGue Phillips, says that the family history is that Hugh and Mary Halpin McGough walked from Cleveland to Milan, Ohio, where the family ultimately farmed about 500 acres of land. He also says that for many years, the old McGue homestead in Milan had a plaque over the door, proclaiming it an Ohio Historical Site. Hugh McGue is buried in St. Anthony's cemetery in Milan, Ohio, where most of his family is buried. His gravestone bears the inscription: "Hugh McGue, County Monaghan, Killanny Parish."

The only states other than Ohio with any significant numbers of McGues are Massachusetts and New York.

McGue is sometimes a "corruption" of the Scots name McGeoch. For example, Donald Allen McGue, who died on June 25, 2007, at age 79 in Medfield, Massachusetts, was the son of Chester and Carolyn (Drew) McGeoch. The website of The Illinois Saint Andrew Society (that described itself as "a meeting place for the Scottish communities of Chicagoland, Illinois, and the World," now published under the name of Chicago Scots, once contained this entry in a now defunct section on Scots names:

"McGue - A corruption of McGeoch. A McGeoch family came to America and settled near Schenectady. One of the older sons enlisted in the state militia. In registering his name, the registrar had difficulty in spelling and articulating it. Finally he said, 'Oh, yes, McGue,' and registered it that way. In that family, the name McGue has been retained, though they are of the same blood as the McGeoch's of Washington Co., NY."

Gues/Goughs/Goffs

I have not attempted to do a statistical analysis of the forms of McGough from which the "Mc" has been dropped. The majority of names such as Gough, Goff, and Gue, probably never had a "Mc" in front of them, but a small proportion of them did.

Sue Brown, formerly Sue Gue, of West Virginia poses this question in an email of January 22, 2000:

"Hi. I read your interesting information about your name. My maiden name is Gue. My father told me years ago that they were Irish and had dropped the "mc" in the name. But we have traced our grandfather back to the Rev. War and the name Gue or Gew was always used. Have you ever run across families who use the Gue name instead of Gough when the "mc" is dropped. And would this have happened as far back as the Rev. war? I would appreciate any help. Sue"

In a follow up email of January 23, 2000, she says:

"Hi again! My Gues were from Amherst, Va originally. We think before that they were in New York. Now they are in WV. (This is where I live.) There is also a Gue line in Maryland, Penn., Iowa, and Canada. There was a Governor Gue in Iowa. However, the Iowa Gues who moved on to Canada think their line goes back to Guion which is French. The Penn. Gue's do not know their origin (as of the last time I spoke with them which was over two years ago). The Maryland Gue's trace their line (I think) to George Gue (Gew) who arrived here from England. However, my father who is now deceased and all his brothers and sisters swore that they were Irish or Scots-Irish. Coincidentally, there are some McGue's in the same town in which I live. (It finally occurred to me to look in the phone book!) (Duh!) I intend to start calling them and see if I can find a connection. I do know that my family were also supposed to have been Quakers at one time. And that one of our ancestors was born "on the boat" coming from Ireland. We have traced John Gue back to the Rev. War but cannot get beyond that . Would love anymore help you could give us. Sue"

I could provide no help to the former Sue Gue, but I do admire the euphonious quality of her name before her marriage. A reference to the Gue Family Genealogy Forum unearthed no answer to her questions.

The Gough and Goff names are explored briefly in the Gough/Goff page of this website and more thoroughly in the website of Norman Gough of the University of Wolverhampton, UK: Gough (Goff) History & Genealogy. This site includes a listing by state of early Goughs and Goughs, and some McGoughs, in the United States.

Vital Records Information

A website called Vital Records Information United States contains information about where to obtain vital records, such as birth, death & marriage certificates and divorce decrees, from each state, territory and county of the United States. In the table below, I have provided a direct link to several states as an indicator of states with a relatively high percentage of McGoughs. For the other states, go to the Vital Records Information home page.

Table of Geographic Distribution

In each cell of the table below, beginning at the right column of the cell, the order of names is: McGough, McGeough (  ), McGeogh [  ], McGoff {  }, and McGue |  |. If there is no number or symbol, the entry is 0. A more detailed explanation of how to read this table is given above under the heading Interpreting the Table.

Frequency of Surnames in the 1900 United States Census

The United States Census Bureau has published Frequently Occurring First Names and Surnames From the 1990 Census. These four items are published for each surname:

(1). A "Name"
(2). Frequency in percent
(3). Cumulative Frequency in percent
(4). Rank

For example, for the surname McGough, the entry is: "MCGOUGH 0.002 63.060 4927." That means 0.2% of the persons listed in the census have the surname McGough, that McGough and the names ranked above it comprise 63.06% of the names in the population surveyed, and that the use of the surname McGough ranks 4927. McGoff, McGue, and McGeough rank far below. Here are the rankings of the surnames discussed above:

Other Names

Also listed in the Social Security Death Index are 4 McGoughys, 1 McGoughey, and 93 McGuffs. There is a Frank McGeo who was born on August 8, 1910, registered for social security in Indiana, and who died in San Gabriel California in February, 1982. The index also lists 24 Magues, predominantly in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

The Social Security Death Index also lists 19 McGaas; 15 McGaffs, 32 McGaffees, 150 McGaffeys, 12 McGaghs, mostly in Massachusetts; 6 McGaghys, mostly in Missouri; 33 McGahs; 378 McGahees; 421 McGaheys; 18 McGahheys; 9 McGahies; 32 McGahueys; 11 McGahys; 331 McGaughs; 950 McGaugheys; 351 McGaughys; 346 McGaws; 23 McGeachies; 120 McGeachys; 15 McGeaghs; 76 McGeochs; 12 McGeoys, mostly in Pennsylvania; 1 McGoe; 135 McGeoys, mostly in Louisiana, New York, and Pennsylvania; 5 McGoheys, all in New York; 1 McGouch; 11 McGoueys; 1 McGoughry; 16 McGows; 24 McGoys; 1 McGua; 1 McGuck; 1 McGuey; 103 McGuffees; 369 McGuffeys; 144 McGuffies; 10 McGuffys; 5 McGuhys; 2 McGuigs, 18 McGuys; and 14 McQues. There are 145 Magaws, 34 Magochs, 3 Magochys (all in Pennsylvania), 18 Megaheys, 3 Megahys, 53 Megaws, and 31 Megows (many from Wisconsin). There are also 161 McKeoughs, 44 McKeoghs, and 30 McGeoghegans.

Michelle McGoff suggests that Andrew Maghu, a single laborer who was born in 1847 in Canada and enlisted as a private in the Union Army in Syracuse, New York, on March 15, 1865, might be a McGough. He is listed (along with a John McGough) in Civil War Servicemen, Town of Manlius, compiled by Kathy Crowell, Manlius Historical Society, 1997 Part II -- J through Z.

An Elizabeth Megeough is listed by Switchboard in Schenectady, New York. Switchboard shows that Tracey McGoughy lives in Clarkston, Georgia; Elfem McGoughy lives in Knoxville, Tennessee; and Estella, Freddie, Lynn, Markieta, Ray, Sherri, Susie, Tanisha, and W. C. McGoughy live in Jackson, Tennessee. The Social Security Death Index lists 3 McGoughys in Louisiana and one in Tennessee. Switchboard shows McGoos in Georgia, New York and Texas; and Magoos in Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, and Washington. There are several McGoffes listed by Switchboard in New Mexico, but none is shown by the Social Security Death Index.

For more names see McGoughs, McGeoughs, and McGeoghs in Ireland in the 1820–30s and 1850–60s: By County, Parish, and Townland and search for slippery slope.

Distribution of McGoughs in the United States <http://www.magoo.com/hugh/usdistribution.html> Updated April 22, 2013		Feedback » Site Search & Directory » © 1999–2013  Hugh McGough »