McCoy is a common surname of unrelated Scottish and Irish origin. It was anglicized into the Scottish name from the Irish McGee and McHugh surnames in Irish Mac Aodha.^[2] It is an Anglicisation of its Irish form Mac Aodha, meaning son of Aodh (a name of a deity^[3] in Irish mythology and an Irish word for "fire"^[4]). The first bearers of the surname Mac Aodha were the grandsons of Aodh (died 1033), who was a son of Ruaidhrí mac Coscraigh, King of South Connacht, Ireland.^[5] The surname McCoy in Ulster however, particularly in Northern Ireland, is from the Scottish MacKays that arrived later in the 17th and 18th centuries in the Ulster plantations and became McCoys.^[6]

• One of the families in the 19th century Hatfield-McCoy feud in Kentucky/West Virginia

• Al McCoy (born 1933), American sports broadcaster
• Al McCoy (1894–1966), middleweight champion boxer
• Alban McCoy (born 1951), British priest and writer, former Catholic Chaplain of Cambridge University
• Alfred McCoy (1899–1990), American college sports coach
• Alfred W. McCoy (born 1945), American author and scholar of the Asian heroin drug trade
• Alice McCoy (born 1948), member of the South Dakota House of Representatives
• Andy McCoy (born 1962), Finnish guitarist of Hanoi Rocks

• Barry M. McCoy (born 1940), American physicist
• Bob McCoy (1934–2016), American basketball player and coach
• Brian McCoy (1943–1975), Irish musician, trumpet player

• Carl McCoy (born 1963), musician
• Charlie McCoy (born 1941), American musician
• Clyde McCoy (1903–1990), American jazz trumpeter
• Colt McCoy (born 1986), American football quarterback

• Dave McCoy (1915–2020), American businessman and skier

• Elaine McCoy (1946–2020), Canadian senator
• Elijah McCoy (1844–1929), inventor, automatic machinery lubricator, lawn sprinkler, cited as the inspiration for the phrase "The real McCoy"
• Erik McCoy (born 1997), American football player
• Ernie McCoy (1904–1980), American collegiate athletic director
• Ernie McCoy (1921–2001), Formula One driver
• Ethel Bergstresser McCoy (1893–1980), of New York City

• Frank Ross McCoy (1874–1954), United States Army officer
• Freddie McCoy (1932–2009), American soul-jazz vibraphonist
• Frederick McCoy (1823–1899), British palaeontologist

• Garry McCoy (born 1972), Australian motorcycle racer
• George McCoy (born 1948), author of a guide to sexual services in Britain
• George Walter McCoy (1876–1952), American physician
• Gerald McCoy (born 1988), American football player
• Gerry McCoy (born 1960), Scottish football player

• Horace McCoy (1897–1955), American writer

• Jack E. McCoy (1929–2014), American politician
• Jake McCoy (1942–2021), American hockey player
• Janet J. McCoy (1916–1995), American administrator and politician
• Jason McCoy (born 1970), Canadian singer/songwriter
• Jason L. McCoy (born 1971), Attorney, Mayor of the Town of Vernon, Connecticut Politician
• Javante McCoy (born 1998), American basketball player
• Jelani McCoy (born 1977), American basketball player
• Jeremy McCoy, (born 1963), American-Canadian double bassist with Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
• Jermod McCoy (born 2005), American football player
• John McCoy (disambiguation), many people
• Joseph McCoy (1837–1913), 19th-century cattle baron
• Joseph H. McCoy (died 1897), Black American lynching victim

• Kansas Joe McCoy (1905–1950), American musician
• Kellen McCoy (born 1987), American basketball player and coach
• Kevin McCoy (born 1967), American artist
• Kevin McCoy (born 1954), rector of the Pontifical North American College
• Kid McCoy (1872–1940), boxer (born Norman Selby)

• LeRon McCoy (born 1982), American football wide receiver
• LeSean McCoy (born 1988), American football running back
• LisaRaye McCoy (born 1967), American actress

• Maimie McCoy (born 1979), English actress
• Mark McCoy (born 1975), American musician
• Marvin McCoy (born 1988), professional footballer
• Mary Eleanora McCoy (1846–1923), American philanthropist, organizer, and clubwoman
• Matt McCoy (born 1958), American actor
• Matt McCoy (born 1982), American football linebacker
• Matt McCoy (born 1966), member of the Iowa Senate
• Mike McCoy (disambiguation), multiple people

• Neal McCoy (born 1958), American country music singer
• Neal Henry McCoy (1905–2001), American mathematician

• Obed McCoy (born 1997) West Indies cricket player

• Papa Charlie McCoy (1909–1950), American musician
• Paul McCoy, American musician

• Randolph McCoy (1825–1914) of the Hatfield–McCoy feud, also called Randolph "Ole Ran'l" McCoy.
• Richard McCoy, Jr. (1942–1974), airplane hijacker
• Richard McCoy (1863–1942), Australian politician
• Richard B. McCoy (died 1902), American politician
• Rico McCoy (born 1987), American football player
• Robert McCoy (disambiguation), multiple people
• Rose Marie McCoy (1922–2015), American songwriter

• Simon McCoy (born 1961), British journalist and newsreader
• Stephen McCoy (1948–1989), American serial killer
• Steve McCoy, radio morning show host
• Sylvester McCoy (born 1943), Scottish actor

• Tim McCoy (1891–1978), American actor
• Timothy McCoy (1955–1972), American murder victim who was killed by John Wayne Gacy
• Tony McCoy (born 1974), Irish National Hunt jockey
• Travis McCoy (born 1981), member of the hip-hop group Gym Class Heroes

• Van McCoy (1940–1979), music producer and songwriter

• Walter McCoy (disambiguation), multiple people
• William D. McCoy (1853–1893), American diplomat
• William S. McCoy (1877–1948), American rum–runner
• Wilson McCoy (1902–1961), American artist and cartoonist

• McCoy, in the American TV series McCoy (1975–1976), played by Tony Curtis
• The McCoys, in the 1938 American film The Crowd Roars, including:
  • Brian McCoy, played by Frank Morgan
  • Tommy "Killer" McCoy, played by Robert Taylor and Gene Reynolds
• The McCoys, in the 1947 American film Killer McCoy, including:
  • Brian McCoy, played by James Dunn
  • Mrs. Laura McCoy, played by Gloria Holden
  • Tommy "Killer" McCoy, played by Mickey Rooney
• The McCoy family, in the 1951 film Comin' Round the Mountain, including:
  • Uncle Clem McCoy, played by Guy Wilkerson
  • Clora McCoy (Matt), played by Shaye Cogan
  • Dorothy McCoy, played by Dorothy Shay
  • Granny McCoy, played by Ida Moore
  • Kalem McCoy, played by Joe Sawyer
• The McCoy family, in the American TV series The Real McCoys (1957–1963):
  • Amos McCoy, played by Walter Brennan
  • Claude McCoy, played by Noah Beery Jr.
  • Sir Fergus McCoy, played by Torin Thatcher
  • Jed McCoy, played by Henry Jones
  • Kate McCoy, played by Kathleen Nolan
  • Luke McCoy, played by Richard Crenna
  • Myra McCoy, played by Eve McVeagh
  • Orval McCoy, played by Sterling Holloway
• The McCoys, in the Japanese anime TV series Digimon Tamers (2001–2002), including Alice McCoy and Rob McCoy
• The McCoys, in season 3 of the American TV series Friday Night Lights (2006–2011), including:
  • J.D. McCoy, played by Jeremy Sumpter
  • Joe McCoy, played by D. W. Moffett
  • Katie McCoy, played by Janine Turner
• Anne-Marie McCoy, in the films Candyman (1992) and Candyman (2021), played by Vanessa Williams
• Anthony McCoy, Anne-Marie McCoy's son in the films:
  • Candyman (1992), played by Latesha Martin and Lanesha Martin
  • Candyman (2021), played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
• Buddy McCoy, in the 1984 American film Truckin' Buddy McCoy, played by Terence Knox
• Danny McCoy, in the American TV series Las Vegas (2003–2008), played by Josh Duhamel
• Ebenezar McCoy, a mentor in the book series: The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
• Dr. Henry "Hank" P. McCoy, known as 'Beast', from Marvel Comics' X-Men
• Jack McCoy, in the Law & Order franchise, including the original series (1990–2010; 2022–present) and Exiled: A Law & Order Movie (1998), in addition to certain cross-over episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-present), and Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005–2006), all played by Sam Waterston
  • Rebecca McCoy, his daughter, appearing in a few episodes of the original series, played by Elizabeth Waterston and Jamie Schofield
• Jake McCoy, a guest character in the American TV series Chicago P.D. (2014–present), played by Billy Burke
• Job "Blue Streak" McCoy, in the 1920 American lost film Blue Streak McCoy, played by Harry Carey
• Josie McCoy, in the Josie and the Pussycats franchise, including:
  • Josephine "Josie" McCoy, in the American animated TV series Josie and the Pussycats (1970–1972), voiced by Janet Waldo
  • Josie McCoy, in the 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats, played by Rachael Leigh Cook
  • Josie McCoy, in the American TV series Riverdale (2017–2023) and Katy Keene (2020), played by Ashleigh Murray
  • Related characters:
    • Myles McCoy, Josie's father in Riverdale, played by Reese Alexander
    • Sierra McCoy, Josie's mother in Riverdale, played by Robin Givens
• Karen McCoy, in the 1993 American film The Real McCoy, played by Kim Basinger
• Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, in the American Star Trek franchise, played by DeForest Kelley in the original series (1966–1969), the animated series (1973–1974), and six feature films (1979–1991); and by Karl Urban in the reboot films (2009–2016)
• Louella McCoy, in the 2025 novel Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
• Ray McCoy, the main character of the video game Blade Runner (1997)
• Sherman McCoy, in the 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
• Skip McCoy, in the 1953 American film Pickup on South Street, played by Richard Widmark
• Willie "Slim" McCoy, in the 1972 song "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" by Jim Croce

The following characters named McCoy appear in films or television series that reference or are inspired by the historical Hatfield–McCoy feud between Appalachian families in the late 19th century:

• Allifair McCoy, played by Gigi Perreau
• Bess McCoy, played by Elisabeth Fraser
• Phamer McCoy, played by Lloyd Gough
• Little Randall McCoy, played by Peter Miles
• Randolph “Old Ranel” McCoy, played by Raymond Massey
• Roseanna McCoy, played by Joan Evans
• Tolbert McCoy, played by Marshall Thompson
• Sarie McCoy, played by Aline MacMahon

• Randall McCoy, played by Steve Forrest
• Rose Ann McCoy, played by Karen Lamm
• Jim McCoy, played by James Keach
• Calvin McCoy, played by Gerrit Graham

• Mama McCoy, played by Iulia Boros
• Ricky McCoy, played by Bradley Taylor
• Papa McCoy, played by Peter Barnes
• Tristan McCoy, played by Elvin Dandel
• Sara McCoy, played by Maria Roman
• McCoy Boy #1, played by Mihai Ionita
• McCoy Boy #2, played by Vasilescu Valentin
• Young McCoy Girl #1, played by Isabela Melinte
• Young McCoy Girl #2, played by Catalina Alexandru

• Alifair McCoy, played by Katie Griffiths
• Bud McCoy, played by Tyler F. Jackson
• Calvin McCoy, played by Greg Patmore
• Harmon McCoy, played by Chad Hugghins
• Jefferson McCoy, played by Jonathan Fredrick
• Martha McCoy, played by Rebecca Calder
• Nancy McCoy, played by Jena Malone
• Pharmer McCoy, played by Michael Jibson
• Randolph "Randall" McCoy, played by Bill Paxton
• Roseanna McCoy, played by Lindsay Pulsipher
• Sally McCoy, played by Mare Winningham
• Sam McCoy, played by Jack Laskey
• Selkirk McCoy, played by Joe Absolom
• Tolbert McCoy, played by Sam Reid
• Tom McCoy, played by Tom McKay

• Alifair McCoy, played by Addy Miller
• Asa McCoy, played by Scott Thomas Reynolds
• Junior McCoy, played by John Shockley
• Ran'l McCoy, played by Perry King
• Roseanna McCoy, played by Kassandra Clementi
• Pharmer McCoy, played by Chris Petty
• Sarah McCoy, played by Lisa Rotondi
• Tolbert McCoy, played by Drew Cash

• McCoy (disambiguation)
• General McCoy (disambiguation)
• Senator McCoy (disambiguation)
• The real McCoy
• Hatfield–McCoy feud

• About.com - Origin for the Surname MacCoy Archived 2007-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
• Araltas.com - McCoy Coats of Arms