Entry № 6659 · Scottish origin

McCoy McCoy — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ muh-KOY /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Scottish
Meaning
"Son of Aodh (real McCoy; Star Trek's Bones McCoy)"
Syllables
1
First recorded
Medieval (Scottish)

A name that means "son of aodh (real mccoy; star trek's bones mccoy)".

McCoy is from the Scottish/Irish Mac Aodha — son of Aodh (the fire god). "The real McCoy" — iconic English phrase meaning the authentic, genuine article; the origin is disputed but most commonly attributed to Kid McCoy (Norman Selby), an American boxer from 1890s-1900s, whose name became synonymous with authenticity. Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy — chief medical officer of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek (1966-present); originally portrayed by DeForest Kelley (TOS, 1966-1969 + 6 feature films); Karl Urban in the 2009 reboot films; Star Trek franchise has grossed over $11.5 billion across films and merchandise. Elijah McCoy (1844-1929) — male; Black Canadian-American inventor; held 57 US patents; his 1872 invention of an automatic lubricator for steam engines revolutionized industrial machinery; the phrase "the real McCoy" is alternatively credited to his name — engineers reportedly asked for "the real McCoy" lubricator instead of inferior imitations.

Son of Aodh.

The name in its native script.

McCoy
Transliteration
McCoy
Pronunciation
/ məˈkɔɪ /
Root
Grammatical form

Where McCoy stands.

McCoy does not currently appear in the US Social Security Administration's top 1,000 girls' names, so we don't publish a US rank or birth count for it. That says nothing about the name's standing elsewhere in the world — only that it sits outside the ranked US data we rely on.

McCoys before her.

Real people
Elijah McCoy
Black Canadian-American inventor.
1844 – 1929
Kid McCoy
American boxer (origin of "real McCoy").
1872 – 1940
In fiction
Dr. "Bones" McCoy
Star Trek.
1966

Names connected to McCoy.

The number behind McCoy.

5

The Seeker

In Pythagorean numerology the letters of McCoy reduce to 5, The Seeker. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.