The Gaelic surname Mac Ruaidhrí is a patronymic form of Ruaidhrí and means "son of Ruaidhrí". The personal name Ruaidhrí is derived from a name composed of Old Celtic elements meaning "red" and "king". A variant form of Mac Ruaidhrí is Mac Ruidhrí.Anglicised forms of Mac Ruaidhrí include: McCreary,McCrory,Roger, and Rorie.
One of several families which bore the surname was the Scottish Clann Ruaidhrí. Members of this family settled in Ulster as gallowglass warriors in the Middle Ages, and are last recorded acting in such a capacity in the fourteenth century.