The Irish surname McCaffery is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Mac Gafraidh or Mac Gofraidh meaning “son of Gafradh,” a Gaelic form of the Old Norse personal name Guðfróðr, composed of the elements guð meaning “god” and  fróðr meaning “wise.” The name is found predominantly in the northern province of Ulster in counties Fermanagh, Cavan and Monaghan. Examples of the surname recording taken from surviving registers include Frank MacCaffrey, who was recorded as a witness at Virginia, County Cavan, on March 1st 1802, and John McCaffery aged 23, and Eliza, aged 20, who were "Famine Emigrants". They left Ireland, probably from Belfast Lough, on the ship "Atlas of Liverpool", on May 11th 1846, bound for New York. Today there are approximately 2,100 bearers of the name McCaffery living in the US.