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McCabe (surname)

The surnames McCabe () and MacCabe ( ) are Irish and Scottish surnames. McCabes are considered to have moved from the Western Isles of Scotland to Ireland sometime around 1350. McCabes are now found mostly in the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand.

Etymology

McCabe and MacCabe are interchangeable Anglicisations of the Gaelic Mac Cába, a patronymic name meaning "son of Cába". The surname can be written in modern Scottish Gaelic as MacCàba and MacCaibe.

The nickname or personal name Cába is of uncertain origin. Patrick Woulfe considered that the surname was possibly derived from a nickname, meaning "a cap", or "hood", or helmet Caba is the Gaelic world for cap, hood, helmet. The name thus means 'the son of the helmeted one'. Henry Harrison suggested the name was from the Gaelic Mac Aba, meaning "son of the Abbot". If Harrison is to be believed then the surname would have a similar etymology as the surnames MacNab, McNab, which are from the Gaelic Mac an Aba, Mac an Abadh.

Origins

According to a pedigree written by Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh, the MacCabes descend from the MacLeods and king Sitric Silkenbeard.

Bearers of the McCabe and MacCabe surnames are considered to have settled in Ireland from the Western Isles of Scotland sometime around 1350. They were employed as gallowglass (mercenary soldiers) to the O'Reillys and O'Rourkes which were the principal septs of Breffny. In time the MacCabes became a recognised Irish sept, with the chieftain being called "Constable of the two Breffnys".

According to MacLysaght in the mid 20th century, statistics then showed that the surname was more numerous in the Breffny area than anywhere else. MacCabe landowners are also associated with County Monaghan and County Cavan.

The principal families of the name lost their estates after the Battle of Aughrim in 1691.

Coat of arms

According to a genealogy which purports to date from the 17th century, Alexander MacCabe (fl.1689) was a descendant of the last chieftains of the MacCabes. Within the genealogy, his arms are blazoned: vert a fesse wavy between three salmons naiant argent; crest a demi-griffon segreant; motto aut vincere aut mori.,

As the MacCabe name means 'the son of the helmeted one', accordingly the family motto's Latin phrase "aut vincere aut mori" translates to "either to conquer or to die" or "to conquer or die".

Present day distribution

McCabes are now found mostly in the United States, Ireland and the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. The number of McCabes as of 2014 was as follows:

In the 1990 United States census, McCabe was ranked 1,200th most common surname, and MacCabe was ranked 43,031st. At the 2000 United States census neither ranked among the top 1,000 most common surnames.

Notable people with the surname McCabe or MacCabe

*Dick McCabe (racing driver) (born 1947), NASCAR driver
*Dick McCabe (baseball) (1896–1950), pitcher in Major League Baseball
*Dick McCabe (American football) (1933–1983), American football player
*Dick McCabe (Australian footballer) (1877–1932), Australian rules footballer
* Edward P. McCabe (1850–1920), American politician
* Edward MacCabe (1816–1885), Cardinal of Dublin
* Edward A. McCabe (1917–2008), aide to President Dwight Eisenhower
*John McCabe (disambiguation) several people
*John McCabe (composer) (1939–2015), British composer and classical pianist
*John McCabe (writer) (1920–2005), Shakespearean scholar and biographer
*John McCabe pen name of Christopher John McCabe (born 1967), British biologist
*John F. McCabe (born 1958), American judge on the D.C. Superior Court
*John Ignatius McCabe (1926–2001), Roman Catholic priest known as Herbert McCabe
*John J. McCabe (1954–1969), Knights of Columbus murder victim
*Joseph McCabe (1867–1955), English writer on rationalism and atheism
*Joseph McCabe (hunter) (1816–1865), South African explorer and botanical collector
*Joe McCabe (hurler) (1919–2019), Irish athlete
*Joe McCabe (baseball) (born 1938), American player
*Joseph McCabe (editor) (born 1972), print and online journalist
*Kevin McCabe (businessman) (born 1948), English property businessman
*Kevin McCabe (economist), US economist
*Kevin McCabe (Gaelic footballer) (born 1960), Irish Gaelic footballer
*Kevin McCabe (banjoist), US musician
*Kevin McCabe (American football) (born 1984), US player
*Kevin J. McCabe (born 1958 or 1959), Alaska state representative
* Patrick E. McCabe (1860–1931), clerk of the New York State Senate
* Patrick McCabe (Irish republican) (1916–1971), member of the List of members of the Irish Republican Army
* Patrick McCabe (novelist) (born 1955), Irish novelist
* Pat McCabe (lacrosse) (born 1969), American player
* Pat McCabe (rugby union) (born 1988), Australian player
* Patrick McCabe (sprinter), winner of the 1982 distance medley relay at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
* Thomas McCabe (United Irishmen) (1739–1820), Irish revolutionary
* Thomas B. McCabe (1893–1982), American businessman, former Federal Reserve Chairman
* Tom McCabe (footballer) (born 1933), New Zealand soccer player
* Tom McCabe (politician) (1954–2015), Scottish Labour Party politician
* Tommy McCabe (born 1998), American soccer player
* Tom McCabe (rugby) (born 1965), Irish footballer
* Tom McCabe (rugby league), Australian player
* Thomas J. McCabe, Sr., developer of cyclomatic complexity, a metric in software engineering
* , bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wollongong (1951–1974)
* William McCabe (footballer), Irish soccer footballer
* William Bernard McCabe (1801–1891), Irish author of historical romances
* William U. McCabe (1880–1931), American attorney and politician from Arkansas
* William Putnam McCabe (1776–1821), organiser for the Society of United Irishmen

See also

  • , reduced form of MacCabe

References

External links

  • McCabe Y-DNA Project. The McCabe group was one of the first on FamilyTreeDNA, with member kit numbers in the 800s.