MCKERLEY Family History

This most interesting name with variant spellings Kerley, Turley, Terry and McTerrelly, found particularly in the counties of Galway and Roscommon, is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Mac Thoirdealbhoigh". This is composed of the Gaelic prefix "mac", meaning "son of", and the personal name "Toridhealbhach", having as its first element the Scandinavian name "Thor" (God of Thunder) and the second element "dealbhach", "in the shape of". The name has also been Anglicized as "Terence" and "Terry".