An Irish surname, McManus comes from the Gaelic term ‘mac’ and ‘manus’ which refer to the son of a great person. Variations in spelling McManus include MacManners, Manus and MacManus. In the County Roscommon and County Fermanagh in Ireland the McManus surname originated. In England most McManus families lived in northern portion centered in Durham, Lancashire and Yorkshire counties. In Scotland the McManus surname covered most of the country and was concentrated in Midlothian and Lanarkshire counties. Within the United States the earliest McManus individuals settled in New York. Later they settled across the country, mostly living in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, South Carolina, Illinois and California. Famous: James McManus (novelist, poet and professional poker player), Alan McManus (a professional snooker player from Scotland), De Clan Patrick McManus (the birth name of singer Elvis Costello), Rove McManus (a television host and producer in Australia), George McManus (a renown cartoonist), Louis McManus (an award winner film editor and engineer in television), Allan McManus (a professional Scottish footballer) and Patrick A. McManus (an early professional baseball player).