[3] After the Battle of Kinsale in 1602, some McDonlevys and McNultys migrated to the province of Connacht where their name is now also common.
[3] However, historical records such as the 1659 "Census" as well as Griffith's Valuation (1848-1864) show that concentrations of McNultys were found in parts of Ireland where the MacDonlevys had little presence, coupled with DNA analysis showing that the McNultys may actually derive from other Gaelic families that migrated from Ulaid and not just the MacDonlevy's.
[3] Regardless of their actual origin, the first McNulty to be recorded is found in the Annals of the Four Masters under the year 1281, where an "Murtough Macan-Ulty" is listed as a distinguished fatality at the battle of Desertcreagh in present-day County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
[3] Other variant spellings of McNulty include McNaulty,[5] McNalty,[5] and rarely as O'Nalty,[6] Nolty,[6] McNult,[7] McEnulty and McKnulty.
[citation needed] By 1980, there were 19,469 persons surnamed McNulty in the United States Social Security Administration data base.