The spelling of "McAuley" is quite tricky, as it contains several sounds that are not necessarily spelled the way one might expect. According to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), the word is pronounced /məˈkɔli/. The first sound, "mə", represents the schwa sound, which is an unstressed vowel sound commonly found in English. The "k" followed by "ɔ" represents the "ko" sound, with the "ɔ" representing a rounded o. The final "li" is pronounced with a long "e" sound, represented by the phonetic symbol /i/.
The name McAuley is of Irish origin. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic surname Mac Amhalghaidh, which means son of Amhalghaidh. The prefix Mac means son of, while Amhalghaidh is a personal name. Over time, the spelling of the name has evolved, and Mac Amhalghaidh became MacAmhalghaidh and eventually McAuley.