McKevitt is an Irish surname, found primarily in the northeastern area of Ireland. The family is a member of the ancient âÂÂNorthern àNéillâ group of clans who resided in the Ulster province of Ireland.
This surname is a variant of the name McDevitt, which itself is a side-branch of the larger O'Doherty family, who were the historic chiefs of the Inishowen peninsula in northern County Donegal. The OâÂÂDohertys are named after Dochartach, a regional chief of the 10th century, and a member of the Cenél Conaill (clan group) dynasty which in early medieval Irish history traced itself to Niall of the Nine Hostages. Niall was a major Irish king who gave his name to the UàNéill families of the northern and northwestern parts of Ireland.
The McDevitt family name arose with the 1208 death of Davitt OâÂÂDoherty, a lesser chieftain of the O'Doherty family. Thus, McDevitt = son of Davitt. Within the McDevitt name, the later split in pronunciation (D or K) occurred in the mid-1600s. In 1608 the unsuccessful rebellion of Cahir O'Doherty, then the chief (and assisted by his kinsman Phelim Reagh MacDavitt), led to the seizure of the OâÂÂDoherty lands by the English, and the dispossession of the McDevitt family. This uprising, with its defeat, was one of the major events leading to the Plantation of Ulster.
Right after Cahir O'Doherty's rebellion and defeat, some of Phelim Reagh MacDavittâÂÂs family relocated eastward into County Armagh, where they had kin among the OâÂÂHanlon family. These McDevitts settled in the OâÂÂNeilland West Barony of Oriel. The name McKevitt originated there with the vocal âÂÂaspirationâÂÂ, or the loss, of the âÂÂDâ sound of Devitt, with the âÂÂKâ sound being carried over; thus McKevitt. By 1700 this family name was evidently established and being used in the local region. Up until the latter half of the 19th Century, the McKevitt family lived mainly in Armagh, but they had also moved south into neighboring County Louth and east into County Down. In the 1740 Corn Census of County Louth, one recorded spelling was McCevid.
In the modern world, the McKevitts, although still a small family, reside in all levels of society. They have spread throughout Ireland, into the U.K., to Canada, to the U.S., and into Australia. Today there are also several spelling variations, such as McCavitt and McEvitt. In the Irish language, the name is written Mac Dhaibhéid.
The name McKevitt may refer to: