The McKee Name - Mag Aodha - Fire

McKee, also McGee and MacGee, is a variant of Magee.

The origin of the name is from AOIDH (pronounced 'eeth') which means 'Fire'

The McKees are descendants of two different origins. Firstly, they may be descended from the Mac Aodh or the Mag Aoidh septs who were located in Ulster for a long time.

Mostly though, they are more likely to de descended from the McGees who arrived in Ulster in the seventeenth century with the "settlers" of the province from Scotland. Ironically, both these lines are probably linked as it is most probable that the Scottish settlers themselves were descended from emigrant Mac Aodhs who had arrived in Scotland from Ireland much earlier.

The birds on the coat of arms are Martlets, a mythical bird used in heraldry. The bird is similar to a swallow and can never land. The inability of the martlet to land is often seen to symbolize the constant quest for knowledge and learning.

The McKee motto is SINE FINE "Without End"