Irish Names



  AHERNE
  Aherne is an anglicisation of O Eachthianna, from Eachthiarna, meaning
  lord of horses and is also found in the variants Heran and Hearne.
  Eachthiarna was a relatively common personal name in Gaelic society, borne
  by, for instance a brother of Brian Boru. The surname originated, in fact, in
  the sept or tribe of Brian, the Dal gCais, and has always been strongly
  associated with their homeland in Co Clare. The family territory was in the
  southeast of the county, around Sixmilebridge, up to the end of the Middle
  Ages, when they migrated south and east, to counties Cork, Limerick and
  Waterford. To this day, Ahernes are most numerous in counties Cork and
  Waterford. The arms of the family include three herons, in an obvious pun on
  the name.

  ALLEN
  The name has two quite distinct origins, one Scots Gaelic, the other
  French. Ailin, meaning little rock is the root of the Scottish name,
  originally MacAllan. The first recorded arrivals bearing the Scottish name
  came in the fifteenth century, as hired soldiers (gallowglasses) imported to
  Donegal by the O Donnells, and the migrations of the following two centuries
  brought many more. In other cases, the surname derives from the old Breton
  personal name Alan, which in turn came from the Germanic tribal name
  Alemannus, meaning all men. the same root provided the modern French name for
  Germany, Allemagne. Followers of the invading Normans were the first to carry
  the Breton version of the name to Ireland. Irish families bearing the name
  may be of either origin, though the fact that two-thirds of the Allens are to
  be found in Ulster - they are especially numerous in counties Antrim and
  Armagh - suggests that the majority are of Scottish extraction.

  ARMSTRONG
  This surname originates in the area along the western Scottish
  borders; the first recorded bearer was Adam Armstrong, pardoned in Carlisle
  in 1235 for causing another mans death. They were among the most notorious of
  the riding Border clans, who also included the Elliots, the Grahams and the
  Johnstons, famous for their lawlessness and plunder. When the power of these
  clans was savagely broken after 1603 by James 1, the Armstrongs scattered,
  and many migrated to Ulster, where a large number settled in Co Fermanagh.
  Even today, Fermanagh is home to the largest concentration of Armstrong
  families in Ireland, although the name is quite common throughout Ulster,
  particularly in counties Antrim and Tyrone. As well as those of Scottish
  origin, however, a good number of Irish Armstrongs are of Gaelic Irish
  extraction. Many of the Trin-Laverys of Co Antrim and the Trainors of
  counties Tyrone and Monaghan had their surnames mis-translated as Armstrong,
  from the presence of the Irish for strong trean, in their original names.

  ATHY
  No records exist for Galway prior to the date of the Anglo-Norman invasion;
  among the earliest preserved the name ATHY appears as a leading family in
  that city/ It subsequently became one of the "Tribes of Galway",* which
  appellation, according to Hardiman, was invented as a term of opprobrium by
  the Cromwellian forces who regarded unfavorably the close bond of friendship
  and relationship between the chief families of the city, and it was
  afterwards adopted  by them as a mark of distinction. Nevertheless the first
  time the name Athy comes into prominence in the history of the city is
  (c.1320) as a party to a series of deadly disputes between the BLAKES and the
  ATHYS in which the ATHYS were worsted. They were never comparable in
  influence with the more powerful of the Tribes, but several of them held
  important posts, e.g., William, de Athy, Treasurer of Connacht 1388.

  The surname ATHY, now scarce, is a type which is common in most countries but
  very rare in Ireland, being formed from a place name. The ATHYS were of
  Norman Stock, settled at Athy, Co.  Kildare (the RED Book of Ormond records
  two tenants named de Athy in Co. Kildare in 1311), whence they soon migrated
  to Galway.

  * The "Tribes" were fourteen in number, viz, Athy, Bodkin, Browne, Deane,
  Darcy, Fant, French, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, Martin, Morris and Skerrett. Some
  authorities reckon the number as thirteen, omitting Deane; but as this name
  appears as early as 1448 in a responsible position in Galway, whereas the
  Morris family did not go there until 1485, it seems proper to include Deane
  among the Tribes.


  BARRETT
  The name Barrett is now concentrated in two widely separated parts of
  Ireland, in Co Cork and in the Mayo-Galway region. The Irish version of the
  name is Baroid in the south and Baireid in the west, and this may reflect two
  separate origins. At any rate, families of the surname first appeared in
  these areas in the thirteenth century, after the Anglo-Norman invasion.  Its
  Norman origin derives it from the old Germanic personal name, Bernard or
  Beraud. A separate derivation gives its origin as the Middle English Barat, a
  nickname for a quarrelsome or deceitful person. The western family,
  originally based around Killala in Mayo, were thoroughly absorbed into Gaelic
  society very quickly, and in the Middle Ages began to split into various
  sub-clans, among them McAndrew, Timmons and Roberts. The Cork settlers were
  not so Gaelicised, giving their name to the large barony of Barretts in the
  middle of the county. The arms of the family are based on word play, a
  pictorial version of barrettes, French for short bars.

  BARRY
  The first bearer of the surname to arrive in Ireland was Robert de Barri, one
  of the original band of Norman knights who landed at Bannow in Co Wexford in
  May 1169, and a brother of Giraldus Cambrensis, historian of the invasion..
  The name comes from the earlier association of the family with the island of
  Barry, seven miles southwest of Cardiff in Wales. From the start the family
  were prominent in the settlement of east Cork, and were soon absorbed into
  the native culture, forming subsepts on Gaelic lines, the most important
  being Barry Mor, Barry Og and Barry Roe. The names of two of these are
  perpetuated in the names of the Cork baronies of Barrymore and Barryroe, and
  many other Cork placenames are linked to the family: Kilbarry, Rathbarry and
  Buttevant (from the family motto Boutez en avant), to mention only three.
  The surname is now very numerous in Ireland, but still inextricably
  associated with Co Cork. As well as the Norman origin, two relatively
  uncommon Gaelic surnames, O Beargha and O Baire, have also been anglicised as
  Barry.

  BEATTY
  In Ulster, where it is found most frequently by far, this surname is
  generally of Scottish origin. In Scotland it originated as Baty, a pet form
  of Bartholomew. The family were well known in Galloway and along the Borders,
  where they were one of the infamous rich clans. After the destruction by
  James 1 of these clans many Beatties migrated to Ulster during the
  Plantations. Their settlements were concentrated especially in Co Fermanagh,
  where they remain numerous.  Some Beatties, outside Ulster, also have a
  separate Gaelic origin, from Mac Biataigh, meaning providers of food. The
  same original was also sometimes transliterated as Betagh.

  BELL
  The surname is one of the 100 most common in Ireland and is found most
  frequently by far in the northern of the country, particularly in Ulster,
  where it is especially numerous in counties Antrim and Down. In Ulster, Bell
  is almost always of Scottish origin, the family being one of the infamous
  riding clans along the Borders, descended from Gilbert le fitz Bel, bel
  meaning beautiful’ or handsome.


  BLAKE
  Caddell, (Blowick) The Blakes are one of the "Tribes of Galway".  They
  descend from Richard Caddell, also called Blake, who was Sheriff of Connacht
  in 1303.  It was not until the seventeenth century that the name Blake
  finally supplanted Caddell. for three hundred years they appear in the
  records of the city as "Caddell alias Blake" or "Blake alias Caddell", Blake
  being originally an epithet - le blac, i.e. black.  The name, of course, is
  also well-known in England: for a note on the poet William Blake, see O'Neill
  (p. 242).  Apart from their activities in the city government and in the
  ecclesiastical wardenship of Galway, the most distinguished member of this
  family was Sir Richard Blake who was chairman or speaker of the Assembly of
  Confederate Catholics at Kilkenny in 1647, Francis Blake, being also on the
  Supreme Council.  William Rufus Blake (1805-1863), the popular American
  actor, was of Galway parentage.  The man who killed Red Hugh O'Donnell by
  poison is said to have been one James Blake.  William Hume Blake (1809-1870),
  an emigrant from Ireland, became the head of the Canadian judiciary and his
  son, Edward Blake (1833-1912), was a leading statesman in Canada.  Martin
  Joseph Blake (1853-1931), should also be mentioned on account of his
  extensive genealogical researches, partly published in Blake Family Records.

  The Blakes were among the most extensive landowners in Connacht in the
  sixteenth century and this was equally true in the nineteenth: their
  principal estates were at Ardfry, Balglunin, Kiltullagh, Menlo and Renvyle,
  all in Co. Galway. A branch of the Galway Blakes settled in Co. Kildare where
  they gave their name to Blakestown in that county.

  It should be added that there are some scattered families of Blake in the
  west of Ireland who are of Gaelic origin, for O Blathmhaic, anglice Blowick,
  is known to have become in certain places in Co. Mayo, being an example of
  the unfortunate tendency of rare Irish surnames to become merged in common
  ones of a somewhat similar sound.


  BODKIN
  This un-Irish sounding name is intimately  connected with Galway, the Bodkins
  being one of the  fourteen "tribes" of that city.  They are, in fact, an
  offshoot of the Fitzgeralds, being descended from Maurice Fitzgerald the
  ancestor of the Earls of Desmond and Kildare.  Richard, Maurice's grandson,
  acquired extensive lands in east Galway in 1242.  The name Bodkin is said to
  have originated from an incident in the career of Richard's son, Thomas
  Fitzgerald - the tradition being that in the course of a famous single combat
  he gained the victory by means of using a short spear called a baudekin,
  whence the expression buaidh baudekin, from which the surname was formed.  Be
  that as it may there is no doubt as to the authenticity of their descent from
  the Fitzgeralds.

  It was in the fourteenth century that the Bodkins, then called Boudakyn and
  later Bodekin, established themselves in the city of Galway, and from that
  time until the Cromwellian upheaval and the submergence of prominent Catholic
  families, they were one of the more important of the "tribes".  There were
  several mediaeval bishops of the name and a number of officers in King James
  II's army in Ireland.  Walter and Dominick Bodkin were members of the Supreme
  Council of the Confederation of Kilkenny in 1647.  One of them, at the siege
  of Galway in 1652 refused to sign the articles of surrender.  Forty years
  later Col.  John Bodkin was a prominent Jacobite leader.  Francis Bodkin was
  a notorious pirate captain: in 1673 his crew were captured but he escaped.


  BOYLE
  Boyle, or OBoyle, is now one of the fifty most common surnames in
  Ireland. In Irish the name is OBaoghill, the derivation of which is
  uncertain, but thought to be connected to the Irish geall, meaning pledge. In
  the Middle Ages the family were powerful and respected, sharing control of
  the entire northwest of the island with the ODonnells and the ODohertys, and
  the strongest association of the family is still with Co Donegal, where
  (O)Boyle is the third most numerous name in the county. The majority of those
  bearing the name are of Gaelic origin, but many Irish Boyles have separate,
  Norman origins. In Ulster, a significant number are descended from the
  Scottish Norman family of de Boyville, whose name comes from the town now
  known as Beauville in Normandy. The most famous Irish family of the surname
  were the Boyles, Earls of Cork and Shannon, descended from Richard Boyle, who
  arrived in Ireland from Kent in 1588 and quickly amassed enormous wealth .
  His earliest known ancestor was Humphrey de Binville, a Norman lord in
  Herdfordshire in the eleventh century.

  BRADLEY
  Although Bradley is a common English surname, derived from the many
  places in England so called, in Ireland the vast majority of Bradleys are in
  fact descended from the O Brolchain sept. How English ears could have heard
  this as the equivalent of Bradley remains one of the many little mysteries of
  Anglo-Irish relations. Brollach, the root of the name, means breast.  The
  name originated in Co Tyrone, and the territory inhabited by O Brolchain
  families covered the area where the present day counties of Tyrone, Derry and
  Donegal meet.  From early times they appear to have migrated widely; one
  branch established itself in the Western Highlands of Scotland, while another
  settled in Co Cork. The many Bradleys in that county to this day descend from
  this branch. Despite their travels, however, most Bradley families in Ireland
  today still live in their ancestral homeland.

  BRADY
  The surname derives from the Irish Mac Bradaigh, coming, possibly, from
  bradach, meaning thieving or dishonest. The name is among the sixty most
  frequently found in Ireland, and remains very numerous in Co Cavan, their
  original homeland, with large numbers also to be found in the adjoining
  county of Monaghan. Their power was centred on an area a few miles east of
  Cavan town, from where they held jurisdiction over a large territory within
  the old Gaelic kingdom of Breifne. There have been many notable poets,
  clergymen and soldiers of the name, including Thomas Brady (1752-1827), a
  field marshal in the Austrian army, the satirical Gaelic poet Rev.  Philip
  MacBrady, as well as three MacBrady Bishops of Kilmore, and one MacBrady
  Bishop of Ardagh. The pre-Reformation Cavan Crozier, originally belonging to
  one of these MacBradys, is now to be found in the National Museum in Dublin.

  BREEN
  There are several distinct Gaelic origins of the surname, both Mac
  Braoin and O Braoin, from braon, meaning moisture, or drop. The Mac Braoin
  were originally located near the town of Knocktopher in Co Kilkenny, but
  migrated to Wexford after the Anglo-Norman invasions in the twelfth and
  thirteenth centuries. Co Wexford is still the area of the country in which
  the surname is most common, though a separate Wexford sept, the O Briain,
  also had their surname anglicised as Breen. These were descended from Bran
  Finn, son of Lachta, King of Munster, and uncle of Brian Boru. However, the
  Breens, rulers of Brawney, a territory near Athlone in counties Offaly and
  Westmeath, were the most powerful of the name in the Middle Ages; as they
  lost power the name mutated, and many in the area are now to be found as
  OBriens. The surname is now also quite common in north Connacht, Co Fermanagh
  and in Co Kerry.

  BRENNAN
  This is one of the most frequent surnames in Ireland and is to be
  found throughout the country, though noticeably less common in Ulster. It
  derives from the two Irish originals O Brao nain and Mac Branain.  The Mac
  Branain were chiefs of a large territory in the east of the present Co
  Roscommon, and a large majority of the Brennans of North Connacht, counties
  Mayo, Sligo and Roscommon, descend from them. O Braonain originated in at
  least four distinct areas: Kilkenny, east Galway, Westmeath and Kerry. Of
  these the most powerful were the O Braonain of Kilkenny, chiefs of Idough in
  the north of the county. After they lost their land and status to the
  English, many of them became notorious as leaders of bands of outlaws. A
  separate family, the O Brainain, are the ancestors of many of the Brennans of
  counties Fermanagh and Monaghan, where the name was also anglicised as
  Brannan and Branny.


  BROWNE
  This in one of the most common surnames in the British Isles, and is
  among the forty commonest in Ireland. It can derive, as a nickname, from the
  Old English Brun, referring to hair, complexion or clothes, or from the
  Norman name Le Brun, similarly meaning the Brown. In the three southern
  provinces of Munster, Leinster and Connacht, where the name is usually spelt
  with the final e, it is almost invariably of Norman or English origin, and
  was borne by some of the most important of Norman-Irish and Anglo-Irish
  families, notably the Earls of Kenmare in Kerry and Lord Oranmore and Browne
  and the Earls of Altamont in Connacht. The assimilation of the Connacht
  family into Gaelic life is seen in their inclusion as one of the Tribes of
  Galway. In Ulster, where it is more often plain Brown, the surname can be an
  anglicisation of the Scots Gaelic Mac a Bhruithin (son of the judge) or mac
  Gille Dhuinn (son of the brown boy). The largest concentrations of the name
  in this province are in the counties Derry, Down and Antrim.

  BUCKLEY
  The common English surname Buckley derives from a number of places of
  the name, and was used as the anglicisation for the Irish O Buachalla,
  derived from buachaill, meaning boy or herdsman. In seventeenth century
  records, the surname is principally found in Co Tipperary, but today counties
  Cork and Kerry have the largest concentrations. Numerically, it is one of the
  most frequent Irish surnames; almost three-quarters of the Buckleys in the
  country live in Munster, however. Other, rarer, anglicised versions of the
  name are Bohilly, Boughla and Boughil. One well known Corkman of the name was
  Dermot Buckley, one of the last of the eighteenth century Rapparees, or
  highwaymen, whose exploits around the Blackwater valley were legendary.

  BURKE
  Burke, along with its variants Bourke and de Burgh, is now by far the
  most common Irish name of Norman origin; it is estimated that over 20,000
  individuals now bear the surname in Ireland, a figure that probably
  represents only a fraction of the world-wide total. The first person of the
  name to arrive in Ireland was William Fitzadelm de Burgo, a Norman knight
  from Burgh in Suffolk, who took part in the invasion of 1171 and succeeded
  Strongbow as Chief Governor. He received the earldom of Ulster, and was
  granted vast tracts of territory in Connacht. His descendants adopted Gaelic
  laws and customs more completely than any of the other Norman invaders, and
  very quickly became one of the most important families in the country. In
  Connacht, which remained the centre of the familys power, new septs were
  formed on native Irish lines. William Liath de Burgh, a great-grandson of the
  original William, was the ancestor of the two most influential clans, the
  MacWilliam Uachtar of Co Galway, and the MacWilliam Iochtar of Co Mayo. Other
  descendants founded families which created distinct surnames; Philbin derives
  from Mac Philbin, son of Philip (de Burgh); Jennings, now common in Co
  Galway, is an anglicisation of mac Sheoinin, son of John (de Burgh); Gibbons,
  found in Mayo, was originally Mac Giobuin, son of Gilbert (de Burgh).
  According to legend, the arms of the family originated during the Crusades,
  when King Richard dipped his finger in the blood of a saracen slain by one of
  the de Burghs, drew a cross on the Saracens golden shield, and presented it
  to the visitor.

  BURNS
  The surname Burns is Scottish and northern English in origin, and in
  Ireland is found most frequently in counties Antrim, Down, and Armagh, and in
  Ulster generally which is home to more than two-thirds of the Irish who bear
  the name. It comes from the Middle English burn , meaning a stream, and would
  have referred to someone who lived close to a river or stream.  The most
  important source of the name is the Scottish Clan Campbell. The ancestors of
  the poet Robert Burns moved from Burnhouse near Loch Etive to Forfar, where
  they became known as the Campbells of Burness. In 1786, Robert and his
  brother adopted the spelling Burns as a surname, and his subsequent celebrity
  inspired others to follow his example. In Ulster, Burns was also used as an
  anglicisation of the Irish O’Byrne and MacBrin.

  BUTLER
  The surname Butler found in both Ireland and England , is Norman in
  origin, and originally meant wine steward, from the same root as modern
  French bouteille, bottle. The name was then extended to denote the chief
  servant of a household and, in the households of royalty and the most
  powerful nobility, a high-ranking officer concerned only nominally with the
  supply of wine.  In Ireland the most prominent Butler family is descended
  from Theobald Fitzwalter, who was created Chief Butler’ of Ireland by
  Henry II in 1177. His descendants became the Earls of Ormond in 1328 and
  Dukes of Ormond after the restoration of Charles II in 1660. Up to the end of
  the seventeenth century, the Butlers were one of the most powerful
  Anglo-Norman dynasties, sharing effective control of Ireland with their great
  rivals the Fitzgeralds, Earls of Desmond and Earls of Kildare. From the
  Middle Ages right up to the twentieth century their seat was Kilkenny Castle.

  BYRNE
  Byrne or O Byrne, together with its variants Be(i)rne and Byrnes, is one
  of the ten most frequent surnames in Ireland today. In the original Irish the
  name is O Broin, from the personal name Bran, meaning raven. It is traced
  back to King Bran of Leinster, who ruled in the eleventh century.  As a
  result of the Norman invasion, the OByrnes were driven from their original
  homeland in Co Kildare into south Co Wicklow in the early thirteenth century.
  There they grew in importance over the years, retaining control of the
  territory until the early seventeenth century, despite repeated attempts by
  the English authorities to dislodge them. Even today, the vast majority of
  the Irish who bear the name originate in Wicklow or the surrounding counties.


  CAHILL
  The original Irish from which the name derives is O Cathail, from the
  common personal name Cathal, sometimes anglicised Charles, which may in turn
  derive from the Old Irish catu-ualos, meaning strong in battle. Families of
  the name arose separately in different parts of Ireland, in Kerry, Galway,
  Tipperary and Clare. Originally the Galway family, located in the old diocese
  of Kilmacduagh near the Clare border, were most prominent, but their position
  was usurped by the OShaughnessys, and they declined. The southern families
  flourished, and the name is now most common in counties Cork, Kerry and
  Tipperary, while it is relatively infrequent in its other original homes.


  CAMPBELL
  Campbell is a Scottish surname, and one of the ten most numerous in that
  country, and one of the thirty most numerous in Ireland, with over two-thirds
  of those who bear the name living in Ulster and particulary common in
  counties Armagh, Down and Antrim. Originally a nickname, it comes from the
  Gaelic cam beul, meaning crooked mouth. Clan Campbell was founded by
  Gillespie O Duibhne, who lived in the thirteenth century, and was the first
  to assume the surname. His descendants included the most famous branch, the
  Campbells of Argyll, one of whose members was responsible for the massacre of
  MacDonalds of Glencoe to the famous feud between the two clans.<br> The vast
  majority of Irish Campbells are descended from the Scottish family, although
  in Co Tyrone the surname may be an anglicisation of the Irish Mac Cathmhaoil,
  from Cathmhaoil, meaning battle-champion.


  CARROLL
  One of the twenty five most common Irish surnames, Carroll comes, in the
  vast majority of cases, from the Irish O Cearbhaill, from Cearbhall, a very
  popular personal name thought to mean fierce in battle. It is widespread
  today throughout the three southern provinces of Connacht, Leinster and
  Munster, reflecting the fact that it arose almost simultaneously as a
  separate surname in at least six different parts of Ireland. The most famous
  of these were the Ely Ocarrolls of Uibh Fhaili, including modern Co Offaly as
  well as parts of Tipperary, who derived their name from Cearball, King of
  Ely, one of the leaders of the victorious native Irish army at the battle of
  Clontarf in 1014. Although their power was much reduced over the centuries in
  the continuing conflict with the Norman Butlers, they held on to their
  distinctive Gaelic customs and way of life until the start of the seventeenth
  century.


  CASEY
  Casy, O Casey and MacCasey come from the Irish cathasach, meaning vigilant in
  war, a personal name which was quite common in early Ireland. This, no doubt,
  accounts for the fact that O Cathasaigh arose as a separate surname in at
  least five distinct areas, in counties Cork, Dublin, Fermanagh, Limerick and
  Mayo, with Mac Cathasaigh confined to the Louth/Monaghan area. In medieval
  times, the Dublin and Fermanagh Caseys were the most prominent, though their
  power had been broken by the seventeenth century; the name is still common in
  north Co Dublin to this day, as it is in Mayo and north Connacht generally.
  However, most present-day bearers of the surname are to be found in Munster,
  not only in Cork and Limerick. but also in Kerry and Tipperary.


  CASSIDY
  In Irish O Caiside, descendant of Caiside, from Cas, meaning curly-headed,
  the surname is inextricably associated with Co Fermanagh, where the family
  were famous for centuries as poets, churchmen, scholars and hereditary
  physicians to the great Maguire chieftains. In Fermanagh, their original seat
  was at Ballycassidy, north of Enniskillen. As their healing skills became
  widey known, many Cassidys were employed by other chiefs, particularly in the
  north of the country, and the name is now particularly common in counties
  Donegal, Monaghan and Antrim, as well as in the original homeland of
  Fermanagh.  Although less numerous elsewhere, the name is now also familiar
  throughout Ireland, with the smallest numbers to be found in Connacht.


  CLANCY
  The Irish version of the surname is Mac Fhlannchaidh, from the personal
  name Flannchadh, which, it is thought, meant red warrior. It originated
  separately in two different areas, in counties Clare and Leitrim. In the
  former, where they were a branch of the McNamaras, their eponymous ancestor
  being Flannchadh Mac Conmara, the Clancys formed part of the great Dal Cais
  tribal group, and acted as hereditary lawyers, or brehons, to the O Brien
  chieftains. Their homeland was in the barony of Corcomroe in north Clare, and
  they remained prominent among the Gaelic aristocracy until the final collapse
  of that institution in the seventeenth century. The Leitrim family of the
  name were based in the Rosclogher area of the county, around Lough Melvin.
  Today, the surname is still most common in Leitrim and Clare, with
  significant numbers also found in the adjacent counties. The best known
  bearer of the name in modern times was probably Willie Clancy, a world-famous
  uilleann piper and folklorist from Co Clare, who died in 1973.


  CLARKE
  Clarke is one of the commonest surnames throughout England, Ireland and
  Scotland, and has the same remote origin in all cases, the Latin clericus,
  originally meaning clergyman and later clerk or scholar. In Irish this became
  cleireach, the root of the surname O Cleireigh, which was anglicised in two
  ways, phonetically as Cleary, and by translation as Clerk or Clarke. Up to
  the beginning of this century, the two surnames were still regarded as
  interchangeable in some areas of the country. By far the largest number of
  Clarkes (with or without the final e are to be found today in Ulster, a
  reflection of the great influx of Scottish settlers in the seventeenth
  century. Even in Ulster, however, without a clear pedigree it is not possible
  in individual cases to be sure if the origin of the name is English or Irish.
  Austin Clarke (1896-1974), poet, dramatist and novelist, was one of the most
  important Irish literary figures of the twentieth century.


  CLEARY
  O Cleirigh, meaning grandson of the scribe is the Irish for both (O) Cle(a)ry
  and, in many cases in Ireland, Clarke, as outlined above. The surname is of
  great antiquity, deriving from Cleireach of Connacht, born c. 820. The first
  of his descendants to use his name as part of a fixed hereditary surname was
  Tigherneach Ua Cleirigh, lord of Aidhne in south Co Galway, whose death is
  recorded in the year 916. It seems likely that this is the oldest true
  surname recored anywhere in Europe. The power of the family in their original
  Co Galway homeland was broken by the thirteenth century, and they scattered
  throughot the island, with the most prominent branches settling in Derry and
  Donegal, where they became famous as poets; in Cavan, where many appear to
  have anglicised the name as Clarke, and in the Kilkenny/Waterford/Tipperary
  region.


  COLEMAN
  Although Coleman is a common surname in England, where it is occupational,
  denoting a burner of charcoal, in Ireland the name is almost always of native
  Irish origin and generally comes from the personal name Colman, a version of
  the Latin Columba, meaning dove. Its popularity as a personal name was due to
  the two sixth-century Irish missionary saints of the name, in particular St
  Columban, who founded monasteries in many places throughout central Europe
  and whose name is the source of many similar European surnames: Kolman
  (Czech), Kalman (Hungarian), Columbano (Italian). The original homeland of
  the Irish O Colmain was in the barony of Tireragh in Co Sligo, and the
  surname is still quite common in this area.  In the other region where the
  surname is now plentiful, Co Cork, it has a different origin, as an
  anglicisation of the Irish O Clumhain, which has also been commonly rendered
  as Clifford.


  COLLINS
  Collins is a very common English surname, derived from a diminutive of
  Nicholas. As with so many such names, in Ireland it may be either of
  genuinely English origin, or an anglicised version of an original Irish name.
  Two such Irish names were transformed into Collins: O Coileain, originating
  in Co Limerick, and O Cuilleain of West Cork. The O Coileain were forced to
  migrate from Limerick to the home territory of the O Cuilleain in the
  thirteenth century, so that it is now virtually impossible to distinguish
  between the two originals. The name is extremely numerous in Cork and
  Limerick, and indeed throughout the southern half of the country.


  CONLON
  Conlon and its associated variants (O) Conlan and Connellan, are anglicised
  versions of a number of Irish names.  OConnallain, from a diminutive of the
  personal name Conall, strong as a wolf, originated in counties Galway and
  Roscommon. O Coinghiollain, whose derivation is unclear, arose in Co Sligo.
  The third of the Irish originals, O Caoindealbhain, comes from caoin, fair or
  comely and dealbh, meaning form, and is principally associated with the
  midlands and Co Meath. This last name was also anglicised Quinlan or, in
  Munster, Quinlivan. The most common anglicisation, Conlon, is now distributed
  throughout Ireland, with particular concentrations in the original homelands
  of north Connacht and the m idlands.


  CONNOLLY
  Again, a number of original Irish names have been anglicised as Connolly. The
  O Conghalaigh, from conghal, as fierce as a wolf, were based in Connacht,
  where the English version is now often spelt Connelly. The name arose as O
  Coingheallaigh in West Cork, while Ulster Connollys derive from both the O
  Conghalaigh of Fermanagh, who gave their name to Derrygonnelly, Connollys
  oakwood, and the Monaghan Connollys, for whom a number of separate origins
  are suggested, as a branch of the southern Ui Neill, or as a branch of the
  MacMahons.  Whatever their origin, the Monagham family have been the most
  prominent of the Connollys, recorded as having Chiefs of the Name up to the
  seventeenth century, and producing, among others, Speaker William Conolly
  (sic), reputedly the richest man in eighteenth-century Ireland, and James
  Connolly, labour leader, socialist writer, and signatory of the 1916
  Proclamation of Independence.


  CONWAY
  In Ireland Conway may be of Welsh or Irish origin. In the former case it
  derives from the fortified town of Conwy, from the river of the same name,
  which term is thought to mean reedy.  Descendants of settlers of the name are
  to be found in counties Kerry and Antrim, and elsewhere. The Irish origins of
  the name are manifold: it is the anglicised version of at least four separate
  names, including, in Co Sligo, O Conbhuidne, (yellowhound), also anglicised
  Conboy in Mayo O Conmhachain, sometimes also given as Convey in Munster Mac
  Conmhaigh, from condmhach, meaning head-smashing, also anglicised Conoo, and
  in Derry/Tyrone Mac Conmidhe (Hound of Meath), which has also been rendered
  as MacConomy, Conomy etc. The surname is now numerous throughout Ireland,
  with perhaps the largest single concentration in Co Mayo.

  COOGAN
  There are three families whose names are sometimes rendered Coogan, one of
  Norman origin, the others Gaelic.  The Norman family claims descent from
  kinsmen of Milo de Cogan (died ca. 1183) who was Strongbow's second in
  command at the Norman Invasion of 1171. He was granted lands in County Cork,
  and the family was powerful in that area into the 1500's. Descendants of this
  line often use the name Cogan, Coggan, Goggan, etc., in addition to Coogan.
  One of the Irish septs is a branch of the Ui Maine whose name in Irish is "O
  Cuagain" and are native to Galway and Roscommon, and now are found scattered
  through those counties and into Leinster.
  The other Irish sept was Mac Cogain or "Mac Cagadhain" who were natives of
  County Leitrim, along the shores of Lough Allen. This family is most
  frequently found as Cogan or Coggan (the Mac having been dropped in the 18th
  century) but occasionaly will be seen as Coogan.


  CORCORAN
  The English version may derive from a number of Irish originals: O Corcrain,
  Mac Corcrain, O Corcain, and O Corcra, all stemming originally from corcair,
  meaning purple. The name has also been anglicised Corkery and Corkin. It
  arose separately in different locations, in the OCarroll territory
  encompassing parts of Offaly and Tipperary, and in Co Fermanagh.  The name is
  now rare in Fermanagh, and it seems likely that the many Corcorans found in
  Mayo and Sligo are part of this group. Further south the name is also common
  now in Cork and Kerry as well as in Tipperary.


  COSTELLO
  The origin of the surname Costello provides a perfect illustration of the
  way the native Irish absorbed the invading Normans. Soon after the invasion,
  the deAngulo family, also known as Nangle, settled in Connacht, where they
  rapidly became powerful. After only three generations, they had begun to give
  themselves a surname formed in the Irish manner, with the clan taking Jocelyn
  de Angulo as their eponymous forebear. Jocelyn was rendered Goisdealbh in
  Irish, and the surname adopted was Mac Goisdealbhaigh, later given the
  phonetic English equivalent Costello. Their power continued up to the
  seventeenth century, centred in east Mayo, where they gave their name to the
  barony of Costello. Today the surname is widely spread throughout Ireland,
  with the largest concentrations still in the historic homeland of Connacht.


  COUGHLAN
  Two original Irish versions of Coughlan (and its variants (O) Coghlan,
  Coglin and Cohalan) exist, O Cochlain and Mac Cochlain, both derived from
  cochall, meaning cloak or hood. The Mac Cochlain were part of the great
  tribal grouping of the Dal Cais, claiming descent from the semi-mythical Cas,
  which also produced OBriens and the McNamaras. Their territory was in the
  present Co Offaly, where they remained prominent up to the eighteenth
  century, Co Cork was the homeland of the O Cochlain, where the name has long
  been associated with the baronies of Est and West Carbury, and Barrymore.
  Interestingly, the surname tends to be pronounced differently in different
  areas of Co Cork, as Cocklin in the west and Cawlin in the east.


  CRAIG
  Craig is Scottish in origin, describing a person who lived near a steep or
  sheer rock, from the Scots Gaelic creag. It was very common near Edinburgh
  and the Lowlands in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and was brought to
  Ulster by seventeenth-century Scottish settlers. In Ireland, it is still
  almost exclusive to Ulster, where it is now one of the most numerous
  surnames, being particularly frequent in Co Antrim, with large numbers also
  to be found in counties Derry and Tyrone. The most famous Irish bearer of the
  name, who organised the Ulster Volunteer Force against Home Rule after 1912,
  was prime minister of Northern Ireland from its creation in 1921 until his
  death in 1940. He was created Viscount Craigavon in 1927, and the new town of
  Craigavon in Co Armagh is named after him.


  CRONIN
  The surname in Irish is O Croinin, from a diminutive of cron, meaning
  yellow or swarthy. A more accurate rendition of the original pronunciation
  would be Croneen, and this survives in placenames embodying the name
  Cooscronin (Cronins hollow) and Liccroneen (Cronins fort) in west Cork, and
  Ballycroneen in Imokilly barony in east Cork. As the placenames imply, the
  origin of the family lies in Cork, in particular in the west of the county,
  where they were originally part of the Corca Laoighdhe. In the Gaelic
  genealogies of this tribal grouping, the Cronins are recorded as hereditary
  owners of territory to the west of present-day Clonakilty.


  CROWLEY
  In form Crowley is English, a habitation name from an Old English term
  meaning wood of the crows, and no doubt some of those in Ireland bearing the
  name derive from English stock. However, the vast majority are of Gaelic
  extraction, with Crowley an anglicisation of O Cruadhlaoich, from cruadh and
  laoch, meaning hardy and warrior. The Cruadhlaoch from whom the family take
  their name was in fact one of the Mac Dermots of Moylurg in Connacht, who
  lived in the mid-11th century. Some time later, probably in the thirteenth
  century, some members of the family migrated from Connacht to Co.  Cork, and
  their descendants prospered and multiplied while the original western branch
  of the family declined. The vast majority of Irish Crowleys today are
  connected to the Cork branch, and that county is still home to most of them.
  Up to the seventeenth century they remained powerful, particularly in the
  Carbery region of the county, and acquired a reputation as formidable
  soldiers, literally living up to their name.


  CULLEN
  The surname Cullen may be Norman or Gaelic origin. The Norman name has
  been derived both from the city of Cologne in Germany, and from Colwyn in
  Wales. In Ireland this Norman family was prominent principally in Co.
  Wexford, where their seat was at Cullenstown castle in Bannow parish. Much
  more numerous in modern times, however, are descendants of the O Cuilinn, a
  name taken from cuileann, meaning hollytree. The name originated in southeast
  Leinster, and this area has remained their stronghold, with the majority to
  be found even today in counties Wicklow and Wexford. The most famous
  individual of the name was Paul Cullen (1803-78), Cardinal and Archbishop of
  Dublin, who presided over, and guided, the revival of the power of the
  Catholic Church in nineteenth century Ireland.


  CUMMINS
  Derives from the Irish name O'Comain (pronounced 'come-on') in
  Munster.  There are several variants, but Cummins is the usual version in
  Co.Cork.  In some places it has been (mis)translated as Hurley, from the
  Irish word 'caman' meaning a hurley stick for a team game played rather like
  like hockey.  Another suggestion, also unacceptable, is that it comes from
  the word 'cam' meaning crooked.

  CUNNINGHAM
  In form, Cunningham is originally Scottish, taken from the place of the
  same name near Kilmarnock in Ayrshire. This name was originally Cuinneagan,
  form the Scots Gaelic cuinneag, meaning milkpail, and was given its present
  form through the mistake of a twelfth-century English scribe, who transcribed
  the ending as -ham, a purely English suffix meaning village.  Many Scottish
  Cunninghams came to Ireland in the seventeenth century Plantation of Ulster,
  and their descendants now form the bulk of those bearing the name in that
  province, where it is most numerous. As well as these, however, many of
  native Gaelic stock also adopted Cunningham as the anglicised version of
  their names. Among these ere the Mac Cuinneagain (Mac Cunnigan) of Co.
  Donegal, the O Cuinneagain or O Cuineachain (Kennigan/Kinahan) of Co. Antrim,
  the O Connachain (Conaghan) of counties Tyrone and Derry, the Mac Donnegain
  (Donegan) of Co. Down and the O Connagain (Conagan) of Co. Armagh. The most
  numerous, however, were the O Connagain and Mac Cuinneagain of Connacht,
  where the surname remains most common outside Ulster. The Scottish influx,
  together with the large number of Irish originals which Cunningham came to
  represent, have made it common and widespread throughout Ireland.


  CURRAN
  Curran, together with its many variants (O) Curren, Corhen, Currane,
  Cureen etc. may come from the Irish O Corraidhin, or O Corrain, both deriving
  from corradh, meaning spear. The former version arose in Co. Donegal, where
  it still remains very numerous, while the latter was the name of several
  independent septs living in south Leinster/Waterford, Kerry, Galway and
  Leitrim. Today, the heaviest concentration of the name is found in Ulster,
  with the smallest number in Connacht, but the name is numerous and widespread
  throughout Ireland. Its most famous bearers were John Philpot Curran
  (1750-1817), the barrister and nationalist, and his daughter Sarah, who was
  secretly engaged to Robert Emmett. Thomas Moores song She is Far From the
  Land was inspired by her story.



  DALY
  The surname (O) Daly ( and its variants Daily, Daley etc.) is O Dalaigh in
  Irish, deriving form Dalach meaning one who is present at assemblies  the
  root word is Dail, now the official title of the parliament of the Republic
  of Ireland. A connection is possible between the meaning of the name and
  the long tradition of scholarship and poetic achievement associated with
  those who bear it, since the ollamh of Gaelic Ireland had a place of honour
  at the tribal dail as a man of learning and a poet/ The medieval genealogists
  located their homeland in the present Co Westmeath, and they spread
  throughout the county by acting as ollamhs to the most prominent families.
  From a very early date families of the name were also prominent in Co. Cork,
  and especially in the area around the peninsulas of Muintervarra, or Sheep ;s
  Head, in west Cork. The likeliest explanation is that the name had a
  separate origin in the south. Even so, the O ;Dalys of Desmond had an equally
  strong association with poetry and learning: so potent were the poems of
  Aonghas O Dalaigh of Ballyroon that he was murdered by one of the victims of
  his satires. The name is now common throughout Ireland, with the
  greatest concentrations in the south and west, and in Co. Westmeath.



  DELANEY
  In its form, Delaney is a Norman name, form De l ;aunaie, meaning form the
  alder grove and doubtless some of those bearing the name in Ireland are of
  Norman stock.  However, in the vast majority if cases it was adopted as the
  anglicised form of the original Irish O Dubhshlaine, from dubh, meaning
  black and slan, meaning defiance. The original territory of the O Dubhshlaine
  was at the foot of the Slieve Bloom mountains in Co. Laois. From there they
  spread also in neighbouring Co.  Kilkenny, and the surname is still strongly
  associated with these two counties. The most famous historical bearer of the
  surname was Patrick Delaney (1685-6-1768), Church of Ireland clergyman,
  renowned preacher and close friend of Jonathan Swift, of whom he wrote a
  celebrated Defence.



  DEMPSEY
  In the original Irish Dempsey is O Diomasaigh, from diomasach, meaning proud
  The name was also occasionally anglicised Proudman. The O Diomsaigh
  originated in the territory of Clanmalier, on the borders of what are now
  counties Laois and Offaly, and remained powerful in the area until the
  seventeenth century. James 1 recognised the strength of the family by
  granting the title Viscount Clanmalier to Terence Dempsey. The loyalty of the
  family to the crown was short-lived, however, and the Williamite wars later
  in the century destroyed their power and scattered them. The surname is now
  found throughout the country. In Ulster, Dempsey is common in Co Antrim,
  where it may be a version of Dempster, a Scottish name meaning judge, or
  possibly an anglicisation of Mac Diomasaigh, also sometimes rendered as
  McGimpsey.



  DILLON
  In Ireland Dillon may be of Gaelic or Norman origin, the former from
  O Duilleain, possibly from dall, meaning blind, the latter from de Leon, from
  the place of the same name in Brittany. This, of course, accounts for the
  lion in the family arms. The Norman family have been prominent in Ireland
  since the arrival of their ancestor Sir Henry de Leon in 1185. He was granted
  vast estates in counties Longford and Westmeath, and his descendants retained
  their power up to modern times, with Co Westmeath becoming known as Dillons
  Country. Another branch of the family settled in Co Mayo, where they are
  still well known today. After the Williamite wars of the seventeenth century,
  a number of members of the family served in Continental armies. The best
  known Irish regiment in the French army was Dillons Regiment, many members of
  which made their way to America to fight against the British in the War of
  Independence.



  DOHERTY
  Doherty and its many variants - (O) Dogherty, Docherty, Dougharty etc.,
  comes from the Irish O Docharaigh, from dochartach, meaning unlucky or
  hurtful. The original Dochartach, from whom the clan descend, lived in the
  tenth century and has traditionally been claimed as twelfth in lineal descent
  from Conall Gulbain, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the fifth-century
  monarch supposedly responsible for kidnapping St. Patrick to Ireland, and
  progenitor of the great tribal grouping of the Ui Neill. Conall gave his name
  to the territory he conquered, Tir Chonaill, the Irish for Donegal, and to
  the subgroup of the Ui Neill, the Cineal Chonaill, the race of Conall, the
  collective name for the many families which claim descent from him, such as
  the Gallaghers and the O Donnells as well as the Dohertys. The original
  homeland of the O Dohertys was in the barony of Raphoe in Co. Donegal,
  with the chief seat at Ardmire in the parish of Kilteevoge. They remained
  powerful chiefs in the area for five hundred years, until the defeat and
  execution of Sir Cahir O ;Doherty at the start of the seventeenth
  century.



  DOLAN
  In Irish the surname is O Dubhshlain, from dubh, meaning black and slan,
  meaning challange or defiance. Other anglicised versions include Doolan and
  Dowling. It first arose as part of the Ui Maine tribal grouping in south
  Roscommon and east Galway, and from there spread to the northeast
  into counties Leitrim, Cavan and Fermanagh. It remains numerous in all five
  counties today, and is particularly common in Co. Cavan. In places it is also
  given as an anglicisation of O Doibhilin, probably derived from dobhail,
  meaning unlucky, and more usually rendered into English as Devlin.
  Many of the Dolans of Co. Sligo are of this stock.



  DONNELLY
  Donnelly is O Donnaile in Irish, from Donnail, a personal name made up of
  donn, meaning brown and gal, meaning bravery. The original ancestor was
  Donnail O Neill, who died in 876, and was himself a descendant of Eoghan,
  son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the fifth-century king who
  supposedly kidnapped St. Patrick to Ireland. Their territory was first in Co.
  Donegal, but they later moved eastwards into Co. Tyrone, where the centre of
  their power was at Ballydonnelly. Many of the family were hereditary bards,
  but their chief historical fame is as soldiers, especially in the wars of the
  seventeenth century. One modern bearer of the name who combined both
  traditional roles was Charles Donnelly (1910-37), poet and republican, who
  was killed fighting with the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil
  War.


  DORAN
  Doran is in Irish O Deorain, a contracted form of O Deoradhain, from
  deoradh, meaning exile or pilgrim. The surname has also been anglicised as
  Dorrian, principally in the northern counties of Armagh and Down, where a
  branch was established in early times. The major fame of the family,
  however, was in Leinster where for centuries they were hereditary judges and
  lawyers (brehons) to the rulers of the ancient territory of Ui Cinnsealaigh,
  the MacMurroughs.  This territory took in all of the present Co. Wexford as
  well as adjoining parts of south Wicklow and Carlow, and the Dorans are still
  most numerous in this area today, with the placename Doransland in Wexford
  providing evidence of their long association with the area. In modern times,
  Dorans have been famous as Wexford sportsmen, with families from Enniscorthy,
  Monamolin and Gorey prominent in football, hurling and cycling.


  DOWD
  At the end of the nineteenth century, the vast majority of bearers of this
  surname, by a proportion of four to one, were Dowd rather than O Dowd.
  Since then, a large-scale resumption of the O has reversed the proportions,
  with the O Dowd now by far the most popular.  The original Irish name  was
  O Dubhda, from dubh, meaning black. In the traditional genealogies, the
  family is one of the Ui Fiachrach, a large tribal grouping tracing its origin
  back to Fiachra, brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the fifth-century
  monarch supposedly responsible for kidnapping St.  Patrick to Ireland. The
  O Dowds were the most powerful in this group, and for centuries their
  territory included large parts of northwest Mayo and west Sligo; the name is
  still numerous in the area today.  The surname also appears to have arisen
  separately in two other areas of the country: in Munster, where the
  anglicisations Doody and Duddy are quite frequent in the Kerry area, and in
  Derry, where the anglicisation is almost invariably Duddy.


  DOWLING
  Although it may sometimes appear as a variant of Dolan, in most cases
  Dowling has a separate origin. In form the name is English, derived from the
  Old English dol, meaning dull or stupid, but in Ireland it is generally an
  anglicisation of the Irish O Dunlaing. The original territory of the
  O Dunlaing was in the west of the present Co. Laois, along the banks of the
  river Barrow, which was known as Fearrann ua nDunlaing, O Dowlings country.
  The leading members of the family were transplanted to Tarbert in Co. Kerry
  in 1609, along with other leaders of the Seven Septs of Laois, but the
  surname remained numerous in its original homeland, and spread south and west
  into Carlow, Kilkenny, Wicklow and Dublin, where it is now very common. As a
  first name Dunlang was popular in early medieval times in Leinster, where it
  was also anglicised as Dudley.


  DOYLE
  This name, one of the most common in Ireland, derives from the Irish
  O Dubhghaill, from dubh, dark, and gall, foreigner, a descriptive formula
  first used to describe the invading Vikings, and in particular to distinguish
  the darker-haired Danes from the fair-haired Norwegians.  The common Scottish
  names Dougall and MacDougall come from the same source, and reflect the
  original pronunciation more accurately. In Ulster and Roscommmon, these names
  now exist as McDowell and Dowell, carried by the descendants of immigrant
  Scottish gallowglasses, or mercenaries.  The strongest association of
  Doyle, however, is with southeast Leinster, counties Wexford, Wicklow, and
  Carlow in particular, though the name is now found everywhere in Ireland.
  The stag portrayed in the coat of arms is regarded as a symbol of permanence
  and endurance, a theme reflected also in one of the family mottoes Bhi me
  beich me, I was and I will be.


  DRISCOLL
  In 1890, over 90 per cent of those bearing the name recorded themselves as
  Driscoll. Today, in a remarkable reversal of the nineteenth-century trend,
  virtually all are called O Driscoll. The surname comes from the Irish
  O Eidirsceoil, from eidirsceol, meaning go-between or bearer of news.
  The original Eidirsceol from whom the family descend was born in the early
  tenth century, and since then they have been strongly associated with west
  Cork, in particular the area around Baltimore and Skibbereen, where they
  remained powerful up top the seventeenth century.  They were part of the
  Corca Laoighde tribal grouping, descended from the Erainn or, Celts who were
  settled in Ireland before the arrival of the Gaels, and retained a distinct
  identity despite the dominance of the victorious newcomers. Their arms
  reflect the familys traditional prowess as seafarers, developed during their
  long lordship of the seacoast around Baltimore.


  DUFFY
  In Irish the surname is O Dubhthaigh, from dubhthach, meaning the dark one.
  Several different families of the name arose separately in different places,
  the most important being in Donegal, Roscommon and Monaghan. In Donegal the
  family were centered on the parish of Templecrone, where they remained
  powerful churchmen for almost eight hundred years. The Roscommon family, too,
  had a long association with the church, producing a succession of
  distinguished abbots and bishops. The area around Lissonuffy in the northeast
  of the county, which is named after them, was the centre of their influence.
  From this source the name is now common in north Connacht. The Monaghan
  O Duffys were rulers of the area around Clontibret. They also contributed a
  great deal to the church, with a huge number of parish clergy of the name.
  They flourished through the centuries, and Duffy is now the single most
  common name in Co Monaghan.


  DUGGAN
  The Irish O Dubhagain is anglicised principally as Duggan, but may also be
  found as Dugan or Doogan, the latter representing a more accurate rendition
  of the Irish pronunciation. The principal family of the name had their
  territory near the modern town of Fermoy in north Cork, and were part of
  the Fir Maighe tribal grouping which gave its name to the town. Along with
  the other Fir Maighe families, they lost their power when the Normans
  conquered the territory in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The family
  name is found in the parish and townland of Caherduggan in that area. Another
  sept of the same name is famous in the Ui Maine area of east Galway/south
  Roscommon principally because it produced John O Dugan (died 1372), chief
  poet of the O Kellys, and co-author of the Topographical Poems, a long,
  detailed description of Ireland in the twelfth century.


  DUNNE
  Although Dunn is also an English surname, from the Old English dunn,
  dark-coloured, the vast majority of those bearing the name in Ireland
  descended from the O Doinn, from donn, used to describe someone who was
  swarthy or brown-haired. The O Doinn first came to prominence as lords of the
  area around Tinnehinch in the north of the modern Co Laois, and were known as
  Lords of Iregan up to the seventeenth century. At that time the surname was
  generally anglicised as O Doyne. Today the name is still extremely common in
  that part of Ireland, though it is now also widespread elsewhere.
  Perhaps because of the stronger English influence, in Ulster the name is
  generally spelt Dunn, while it is almost invariably Dunne in other parts.


  DWYER
  In Irish the surname is O Duibhir or O Dubhuidhir, made up of dubh,
  meaning dark and odhar, meaning tawny or sallow. The resumption of the O
  prefix has now made O Dwyer much the most common version. Their original
  homeland was in the mountains of west Tipperary, where they held power and
  resisted the encroachment of the English down to modern times.  The surname
  is still extremely common in this area, but Dwyers and O Dwyers have now also
  spread into the neighbouring counties of Limerick, Cork and Kilkenny. The
  most famous bearer of the name in modern times was Michael Dwyer, who took
  part in the 1798 Rising against the English, and continued his resistance up
  to 1803. He was transported to New South Wales in Australia, and became High
  Constable of Sydney, where he died in 1826.


  EGAN
  Egan in Irish is Mac Aodhagain, from a diminutive of the personal name
  Aodh, meaning fire, which was anglicised Hugh for some strange resson.
  As well as Egan, Aodh is also the root of many other common Irish surnames,
  including O Higgins, O Hea, Hayes, McHugh, McCoy etc. The
  Mac Aodhagain originated in the Ui Maine territory of south Roscommon/east
  Galway, where they were hereditary lawyers and judges to the ruling families.
  Over the centuries, however, they became dispersed southwards, settling
  mainly in north Munster and east Leinster.  As well as Connacht, their
  original homeland, they are now most numerous in Leinster, though the surname
  is now also relatively widespread throughout Ireland. In both Connacht and
  Leinster the surname has also sometimes been anglicised as Keegan.



  FAHY
  Fahy in Irish is O Fathaigh, probably from fothadh meaning base or
  foundation. Another, rare, English version of the name is Vahey. Strangely,
  it has also been anglicised as Green because of a mistaken association with
  faithce, meaning lawn.  The name still has a very strong association with Co
  Galway, where the historic homeland was situated. The area of the
  familys power was around the modern town of Loughrea in the south of the
  county, and the surname is still most plentiful in this area, despite the
  upheavals and migrations which have spread the name quite widely throughout
  Ireland. The best known bearer of the name was Francis Arthur Fahy
  (1854-1935), songwriter and literary man, who paved the way for the Irish
  Literary Revival through his lifelong involvement with the Gaelic League and
  the London Irish Literary Society.


  FARRELL
  As both (O) Farrell and (O) Ferrall, this name in Irish is fearghail, from
  the personal name Fearghal, made up of fear, man, and gal, valour. The
  original Fearghal or Fergal from whom the family claim descent was killed at
  Clontarf in 1014. His great grandfather Angall gave his name to the territory
  they possessed, Annally in Co Longford. The present name of both the
  county and the town derives from the family, the full name in Irish being
  Longphuirt Ui Fhearghaill, OFarrells Fortress. They ruled this area for
  almost seven centuries, down to the final catastrophes of the seventeenth
  century, after which many members of the family fought with distinction in
  the armies of continental Europe. Today the surname is one of the most
  common in Ireland, with a wide distribution throughout the country, though
  the largest concentration remains in the historical homeland of Longford and
  the surrounding areas. The most famous modern Irish bearer of the name was
  Michael Farrell (1899-1962), whose novel Thy Tears Might Cease achieved
  international recognition in the 1960s.


  FERGUSON
  The surname is common in Scotland, and in Ireland is almost entirely confined
  to Ulster because of the Scottish connection. It is particularly numerous in
  counties Antrim, Derry, Fermanagh and Down.  Most Irish Fergusons claim
  descent from Fergus, prince of Galloway, who died in 1161, whose descendants
  included the Fergusons of Craigdarrach in Dumfrieshire, and of Atholl and
  Dunfallandy in Perthshire. The connection remains somewhat speculative, since
  the root of the name, the personal name Fergus, was common and widespread in
  medieval Scotland, and almost certainly gave rise to a large number of
  different families bearing the surname, Sir Samuel Ferguson (1810-86) was a
  percursor of the Irish Literary Revival, publishing many translations from
  Irish and versions of Irish myths, as well as contributing greatly to the
  scientific study of early Irish antiquities.


  FINNEGAN
  In Irish the surname is O Fionnagain, from Fionnagan, a diminutive of the
  popular personal name Fionn, meaning fairheaded.  It arose separately in two
  areas, on the borders of the present north Roscommon and north-east Galway,
  between the modern towns of Dunmore and Castlerea, and in the territory
  taking in parts of the present counties of Monaghan, Cavan and Louth.
  Descendants of the Connacht family are still to be found in the ancestral
  homeland, but the majority of modern Finnegans are descended from the Ulster
  family, and the name remains particularly numerous in counties Cavan and
  Louth.  Descendants of the Connacht family are still to be found in the
  ancestral homeland, but the majority of modern Finnegans are descended from
  the Ulster family, and the name remains particularly numerous in counties
  Cavan and Monaghan. It is now also common throughout Ireland, with the
  exception of the southern province of Munster.


  FITZGERALD
  Fitzgerald is a Norman name, made up of Fi(t)z, Norman French for son of, and
  Gerald, a personal name of Germanic origin from geri, spear and wald, rule.
  The family trace their origin to Walter Fitz Other, keeper of Windsor forest
  in the late eleventh century, whose son Gerald was constable of Pembroke
  Castle in Wales.  Geralds son Walter accompanied Strongbow in the invasion of
  Ireland, and adopted the surname Fitzgerald.  Over the following eight
  centuries the family became one of the most powerful and numerous in Ireland.
  The head of the main branch, the Duke of Leinster, known historically as the
  Earl of Kildare, is the foremost peer of Ireland. The power of the Munster
  branch, the Earls of Desmond, was severely disrupted in the wars of the
  sixteenth century, but gave rise to three hereditary titles, in existence
  since at least 1333, which still survive: the Knight of Kerry, the Knight of
  Glin, and the White Knight, now a Fitzgibbon. The surname is now common, but
  remains concentrated in the ancient homeland of the Earls of Desmond,
  counties Cork, Limerick and Kerry.


  FITZPATRICK
  Despite its Norman appearance, Fitz- being Norman French for son of, in the
  vast majority of cases Fitzpatrick is an anglicisation of the Irish Mac
  Giolla Phadraig, meaning son of the servant of (St) Patrick. Similarly to
  other surnames containing Giolla, it has also been anglicised as Kilpatrick
  and, more rarely. Gilpatrick, principally in Ulster, where it is most common
  in counties Fermanagh and Monaghan. The original Giolla Phadraig from whom
  the surname is taken was the tenth-century ruler of the ancient kingdom of
  Upper Ossory, including parts of the present counties of Laois and Kilkenny.
  The surname was anglicised to Fitzpatrick in the early sixteenth century,
  when the chief of the family accepted the title of Lord Baron of Upper Ossory
  from Henry VIII. Partly due to this, they managed to retain possession of a
  large portion of their original lands right up to the nineteenth century.
  Although the surname is now common and widespread throughout Ireland, the
  largest concentration is still to be found in Co Laois, part of their
  original homeland.


  FLAHERTY
  In Irish Flaherty and OFlaherty are O Flaithbheartach, from flaitheamh,
  meaning prince or ruler, and beartach, meaning acting or behaving. Although
  the literal translation is one who behaves like a prince, a more accurate
  rndition would be hospitable or generous. The familys original territory
  included the whole of the west of the modern Co Galway, including
  Connemara and the Aran Islands, whence the title of their chief, Lord of
  Iar-Chonnacht and of Moycullen. They occupied and controlled this area from
  the thirteenth century on, and survived as a power in the area down to the
  eighteenth century.  Although the name is now common and widespread, the
  largest numbers are still to be found in Co Galway.


  FLANAGAN
  In Irish the surname is O Flannagain, a diminutive of flann, a personal name
  which was very popular in early Ireland, and means red or ruddy. Perhaps
  because of this popularity, the surname arose separately in a number of
  distinct locations, including counties Roscommon, Fermanagh, Monaghan and
  Offaly. Of these, the most important families, historically were those of
  Roscommon and Fermanagh. In the former location they were long associated
  with the royal OConnors, traditionally deriving from the same stock, and
  supplying stewards to the royal household.  In Fermanagh they were rulers of
  a large territory covering the west of Lower Lough Erne, and based at
  Ballyflanagan, now the townland of Aghamore in Magheraboy parish. Today the
  surname is found widely distributed Ireland, though the largest concentration
  remains in the areas of their original homelands, southwest Ulster and north
  Connacht.


  FLEMING
  Fleming is an ethnic name simply meaning an inhabitant of Flanders. It is a
  common surname in Britain, reflecting the importance of the wool trade
  between England and the Netherlands in the Middle Ages, when many Flemish
  weavers and dyers settled in England, Wales and southern Scotland. It arrived
  in Ireland in two ways: following the Norman invasion, when families of the
  name became prominent in the areas around Dublin; and through the Plantation
  of Ulster in the seventeenth century, when many Scottish bearers of the name
  arrived. Today, although widespread elsewhere, the surname is most numerous
  in Ulster, particularly in counties Antrim and Derry, but the most
  historically important Fleming family was one of the earlier southern
  arrivals, a family was one of the earlier southern arrivals, a family that
  held large tracts of land in counties Meath and Louth down to the seventeenth
  century, and acquired the title Lords of Slane.


  FLYNN
  In Irish the name is O Floinn, from the adjective flann, meaning reddish or
  ruddy, which was extremely popular as a personal name in early Ireland. As
  might be expected, this popularity led to the surname coming into being
  independently in several different parts of the country, including Clare,
  Cork, Kerry, Mayo, Roscommon, Cavan, Antrim and Monaghan. The most
  historically important of these were the families originating in Cork and
  Roscommon, with the former ruling over a territory in Muskerry between
  Ballyvourney and Blarney , and the latter centred on the area of north
  Roscommon around the modern town of Castlerea. In Co Antrim the Irish version
  of the name was O Fhloinn, with the initial F silent, so that the anglicised
  version became O Lynn, or simply Lynn.  The OLynns ruled over the lands
  between Lough Neagh and the Irish Sea in south Antrim. (O) Flynn is now
  numerous throughout Ireland, though significant concentrations are still to
  be found in north Connacht and the Cork/Waterford areas, roughly
  corresponding to the original homelands.


  FOLEY
  The original Irish for the surname is O Foghladha, from foghlaidh, meaning
  pirate or marauder. It originated in Co Waterford, and from there spread to
  the nearby counties of Cork and Kerry.  These are the three locations in
  which it is still most numerous, though it is now common throughout the
  southern half of the country. The best known modern Irish bearer of
  the name, Donal Foley (1922-81), journalist and humorist, came from the
  original homeland of Co Waterford. The current Speaker of the US House of
  Representatives is Congressman Tom Foley. In places in Ulster the surname
  MacSharry (Mac Searraigh) was sometimes mistranslated as Foley or Foaley,
  because of a mistaken belief that it was derived from searrach, meaning
  foal.


  FORD
  In form, this is a common English name for someone who lived near a ford.
  In Ireland, where it is more often Forde, it may indicate English ancestry,
  since many English of the name settled in Ireland.  However, in the majority
  of cases it is a native Irish name, an anglicisation of at least three Irish
  distinct originals: Mac Giolla na Naomh, meaning son of the devotee of the
  saints, also anglicised as Gildernew; Mac Conshnamha, from conshnamh, meaning
  swimming dog, also anglicised Kinneavy; and O Fuarain, from fuar, meaning
  cold, and also anglicised as Foran. Clearly, the English clerks transcribing
  Irish names had scant knowledge of the language they were hearing. Mac
  Conshnamha originated in north Connacht, where the sept were chiefs in the
  area now part of Co Leitrim from the thirteenth century. Mac Giolla na Naomh
  was principally a south Connacht name, while O Fuarain originated in Co Cork.
  The name is still most common in Cork, though large numbers are also to be
  found in the Connacht counties of Galway and Mayo, as well as in Dublin.


  FOX
  Fox is a common English surname, based on a nickname, and a significant
  number of Irish bearers of the name will be of English descent. In the
  majority of cases, however, Fox is a simple translation of O or Mac an
  Sionnaigh, descendant or son of the fox respectively. From early times the
  Mac an Sionnaigh were widely scattered, allowing their name to be
  anglicised phonetically in an extraordinary number of ways depending on local
  accents and dialects - MacAshinna, MacShanaghy, Shinny, Shannon, Shinnock,
  Tinney and MacAtinna are only some of the variation which have been noted.
  O Sionnaigh has a more particular history. Tadhg O Catharnaigh (Kearney) was
  Chief of Teffia in Co Meath in the eleventh century and, for his wily ways,
  became known as An Sionnach the fox. As his descendants prospered even
  further, becoming proprietors of the entire barony of Kilcoursey in Co Offaly
  and acquiring the title Barons Kilcoursey, they adopted his nickname as their
  own surname in place of O Catharnaigh, and the chief of the family took on
  The Fox as a title.  They lost their property after the rebellion of 1641-2,
  but the descent from the last duly inaugurated Chief has remained unbroken.
  John William Fox, The Fox, Chief of his Name, recognised as such by the Chief
  Herald of Ireland, lives in Australia.



  GALLAGHER
  (O) Gallagher in Irish is O Gallcobhar, from gall, meaning help or support.
  The original Gallcobhar from whom the family claim descent was himself
  descended from Conall Gulban, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the
  fifth-century monarch who was refutedly responsible for the kidnapping of St
  Patrick to Ireland, and who was the founder of the Ui Neill dynasty. The
  O Gallaghers claim to be the most senior branch of the Cineal Conaill, the
  group of families who all descend from Conall Gulban. Their territory was in
  Tir Chonaill (literally Conalls Land), in what is now Co. Donegal. From the
  fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries they were hereditaty commanders of the
  cavalry of the forces of the ODonnell princes of Tir Chonalill.  Today
  Gallagher is the singlemost numerous name in Co. Donegal, and is also very
  common in the adjoining counties of Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone. Though less
  common elsewhere in Ireland, it has spread throughout the country over the
  centuries.


  GORMAN
  Gorman is a relatively common name in England, where it is derived from the
  Middle English personal name Gormund, from gar, meaning spear, and mund,
  meaning protection.  A few Irish Gormans may be of this connection, but in
  the vast majority of cases in Ireland the surname comes from the original
  Irish Mac Gormain, from a diminutive of gorm, meaning blue. The original
  homeland was in Co. Laois, in Slievmargy, but they were dispossessed by the
  Prestons, a Norman family, and removed to counties Clare and Monaghan. The
  Clare branch became will known in later years for the extent of their wealth
  and hospitality, and for their patronage of poetry. From Clare they spread
  also into the adjoining county of Tipperary.  When the native Irish began to
  resume the old O and , Mac prefixes to their names in the nineteenth century,
  the Clare family mistakenly became O Gorman, probably following the error of
  the then best known bearer of the surname, Chevalier Thomas O Gorman
  (1725-1808), an Irish exile in France. In Tipperary, the name has generally
  remained Gorman, while in Monaghan the original Mac Gorman still exists,
  along with the other two versions.


  GRAHAM
  Graham is a Scottish surname, deriving from the placename Grantham, also
  known as Graham, in modern Lincolnshire in England. It was taken to Scotland
  in the twelfth century by William de Graham, a Norman baron who held the
  manor of Grantham, and from whom virtually all modern bearers of the name are
  descended. In Ireland it is overwhelmingly concentrated in Ulster, in
  particular counties Down and Fermanagh, as well as Armagh, Monaghan and
  Tyrone. The Irish Grahams are mostly descended from a branch of the family
  which migrated from Midlothian to the Scottish borders in the Middle Ages and
  became, with the Armstrongs, the most powerful of the outlaw riding clans.
  When the power of these clans was savagely broken by James 1, many migrated
  to the north of Ireland, settling especially in Co Fermanagh. Unlike the
  other clans, from that base the Grahams spread widely through the surrounding
  counties.


  GREENE
  Greene is an extremely common English surname, generally referred to someone
  who lived near a village green. Many Irish bearers of the name, particularly
  in Ulster, are probably of the connection.  However, Green(e) was also used
  as the anglicised version of a wide variety of Irish names containing
  uaithne, green, or glas, grey-green. O Uaithnigh, anglicised as both Green
  and the phonetic Hooney, arose in in Co.  Cork. On Co.Clare the original,
  from the same Irish stem, was O Uaithnigh, more rarely anglicised as
  Honeen and Huneen. In Ulster, Mac Glaisin, McGlashan, and Mac Giolla Ghlais,
  McAlesher, relatively commin in counties Antrim and Derry, also became Green.
  Further O Griana, Mac Griana, found in northwest Ulster, and O Grianain, from
  counties Cavan and Sligo, were also phonetically rendered as Green, although
  the root of the names is the Irish grian, meaning sun.<br>



  GRIFFIN
  While the name is English in appearance, in the great majority of cases Irish
  Griffins are descended from the O Griobhtha.  Both the English and Irish
  versions ultimately have the same source, the name of the legendary monster,
  the gryphon, used as a nickname for someone fierce or dangerous. The name
  arose separately in at least two areas: in Co Kerry, centred on
  Ballygriffin in Glanarought barony, and in Co. Clare, where the seat was at
  Ballygriffy, near Ennis. From these two starting points the families spread
  and intermingled, and today Griffin is among the 100 most common Irish
  surnames, found principally in the original homelands of Clare and Kerry, as
  well as in the adjoining counties of Cork and Limerick.


  HALL
  Hall is an extremely common Englich surname, found widely in Scotland also,
  denoting someone who lived near a large house, or was employed in a manor or
  hall. In Ireland, it is most common in Ulster, where its source is
  predominantly Scottish; the Halls were one of the outlaw riding clans who
  migrated to Ulster when their dominance over the Scottish Borders was broken
  by James 1. The name is particularly associated with Co Antrim. Elsewhere, it
  is also found in Munster, brought during the sixteenth and seventeenth
  century plantations, and in Leinster, due to the long association of parts of
  that province with English rule. It is rare in the western province of
  Connacht.


  HAMILTON
  The surname is one of the most common and famous in Scotland, coming from the
  Norman baron Wlater Fitzgilbert de Hameldone, a supporter of Robert the Bruce
  in the fourteenth centruy. His name came from the now deserted village of
  Haleldone (Old English hamel, crooked, and dun, hill) in the parish of Barkby
  in Leicestershire. The arrival of Hamiltons in Ireland is inextricably linked
  to the Plantation of Ulster in the seventeenth centruy, when a large number
  of the powerful Scottish landowners granted territory in the province were
  members of that family.  They gained possession of vast tracts of lannd in
  counties Armagh, Cavan, Fermanagh and Tyrone, and settled many of their
  kinsmen on these estates. Sir Frederick Hamilton fought in the army of the
  Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus before settling in Ulster, and his grandson
  Gustavus Hamilton was created Viscount Boyne in 1717.


  HAYES
  Hayes is a common surname in England, whre it derives from various places of
  the same name and from the Norman De la Haye, but in Ireland it is almost
  always the most common anglicisation of the Irish O Aodha, from the personal
  name Aodh, fire, which was very popular in early Ireland. No doubt this
  popularity accounts for the fact that the surname originated separately in at
  least twelve differant locations, including southwest Cork,
  Limerick/Tipperary, south Donegal, Sligo, Monaghan, Meath, Mayo, north
  Tyrone, south Down, Armagh, and Wexford. As well as Hayes, the surname was
  also anglicised as OHea, particularly in southwest Cork, and as Hughes, since
  Aodh was invariably translated as Hugh. This last anglicisation is most
  common among the five septs origination in the Ulster counties.



  HEALY
  There is an English surname Healy, derived from the Old English heah, high,
  and leah, clearingwood, but almost all of those bearing the name in
  Ireland are descendants of one of two Irish families, the O Eilidhe, from
  eilidhe, claimant, and the O Ealadaigh, from ingenious. The O Eilidhe
  had territory in southeast Co. Sligo, on the shores of Lough Arrow, one of
  the most beautiful parts of the country, where their seat was at Ballyhely.
  The O Ealadaighthe, whose name was originally given the more phonetically
  accurate equivalent Healihy, were based in the parish of Donoghmoe in
  Muskerry in Co. Cork, where they retained considerable power and wealth up to
  the seventeenth century. The surname is very common and widespread today,
  though significant concentrations are to be found around the original
  homelands in Connacht and Cork. The best known modern bearer of the
  name was the journalist, John Healy, of the Connacht family, renowned for his
  passionate defence of the rural way of life.


  HEGARTY
  In Irish the surname is O Eigceartaigh, from eigceartach, meaning unjust. The
  name appears to have arisen first in the area now divided between counties
  Derry and Donegal, where the O Eigceartaigh were a branch of the Cinel
  Eoghain, that large group of families claiming descent from Eoghan, one of
  the sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the fifth-century monarch who
  supposedly kidnapped St Patrick to Ireland. However, today the surname is
  much more common in Co Cork, at the other end of the country. Traditionally,
  the Cork (O) Hegartys were claimed as a branch of the more historically
  prominent northern family, but ecertach was a common personal name in
  Munster, and it seems more likely that the surname arose separately there.
  At any rate, OHegartys are recored in west Cork as early as the thirteenth
  century, and remain strongly associated with the area.


  HENNESSY
  The original Irish form of the name is O hAonghasa, from the personal name
  Aonghas, anglicised Angus, one of the pre-Christian Celtic gods. This was
  quite popular, and it gave rise to the surname in several distinct
  localities; in the north of the present Co Offaly, from where the family
  later spread into the adjoining counties of Clare and Tipperary; in the
  southwest Co Cork, where they formed part of the Corca Laoidhe tribal
  grouping, descened from pre-Gaelic origins, and in east Cork, in the
  territory between the present towns of Fermoy and Mitchelstown. The east Cork
  family produced the most famous bearer of the name, Richard Hennessy
  (1720-1800), who fought with Dillons Brigade in the French army, and founded
  the famous brandy distillery in 1765. Today the surname is still strongly
  associated with Co Cork, though significant numbers also appear in counties
  Limerick, Tipperary and Clare. In the latter area, the name has also been
  anglicised as Henchy and Hensey.


  HENRY
  There are several Irish, Scottish and Norman originals for this surname.  In
  Munster it is often the anglicisation of Mac Inneirghe, from inneireighe,
  meaning abondonment, and has also been rendered into English as MacHenry and
  MacEnery. This family were prominent in Co Limerick. In Co Tyrone, it is
  found as an anglicisation of O Inneirghe, from the same root. At least two
  other Gaelic Irish origins for the name exist in Ulster, the Mac Einri,
  descended from Henry, son of Dermot OCahan (died 1428), situated in the north
  Antrim/Derry area, and the O Ainiarriadh, originally from southeast Ulster.
  In addition, the surname appears in Connacht, where it seems to derive from a
  branch of the Norman FitzHenrys, who settled in west Galway in the Middle
  Ages. To complicate matters further, Ulster contains many Scottish surnames
  based on Henry as a personal name - Henderson, Hendry, McKendry, Hendron etc
  - which have long been confused with similar-sounding Gaelic Irish surnames
  in the same areas.


  HICKEY
  The original Irish for Hickey is O hIcidhe, from iceadh, meaning
  healer. The Hickeys were part of the tribal grouping, the Dal Cais, which
  produced Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland who defeated the Vikings in
  1014. This grouping had its territory in the area now part of Co Clare and
  north Tipperary, and it is this area with which the Hickeys remain closely
  identified.  Their surname arose because of their position as hereditary
  physicians to the royal OBrien family.  From their origianl homeland, the
  name spread first into the neighbouring Co Limerick, and from there even
  wider, so that Hickey is today one of the most common and widespread of Irish
  surnames.


  HIGGINS
  In form, Higgins is an Englich name, from the medieval given name
  Higgin, a diminutive of Hicke, which was in turn a pet form of Richard. In
  Ireland, however, the vast majority of those bearing the name are of Gaelic
  Irish stock, Higgins being used as an anglicisation of the Irish O Uigin,
  from uiginn, meaning Viking. The original Uigin from whom they claim descent
  was grandson to Niall of the None Hostages, the fifth-century king who
  founded the powerful tribal grouping the Ui Neill, and they are therefore
  regarded as part of that grouping. Originally based in the midlands, part of
  the southern Ui Neill, they moved west over the centuries to Sligo and Mayo,
  and more than half of those bearing the surname today still live in the
  western province of Connacht. Don Ambrosio O Higgins rose to become Viceroy
  of Peru for Spain, and his son, Bernado, is widely remembered in South
  America as the Liberator of Chile. Ambrosio was born in Ballinvary, Co Sligo,
  and took the Spanish title Baron de Valenar, Baron Ballinvary.


  HOGAN
  The Irish version of the surname is O Ogain, from a diminutive of og, meaning
  young. The original Ogan from whom the family claim descent lived in the
  tenth century and was an uncle of Brian Boru, the High King who defeated the
  Vikings at Clontarf in 1014. Like Brian Boru, they were part of the
  Dal Cais tribal grouping, whose original territory took in Clare and parts of
  Tipperary. The (O)Hogans were centred on Ardcrony, near the modern town of
  Nenagh in north Tipperary, where their chief had his seat. From there the
  surname spread far and wide, and is today one of the most common in Ireland,
  with particular concentrations close to the first homeland, in counties
  Clare, Tipperary and Limerick. In addition, significant numbers are to be
  found in Cork, where it is thought that the name may have had a separate
  origin, in the southwst of that county.


  HUGHES
  Hughes is common in England and Wales, where it is a patronymic, deriving
  from the fathers name, and quite a few Irish bearing the name, particularly
  in Ulster, will be of English and Welsh stock.  Elsewhere, it is almost
  always one of the anglicisations of the Irish O Aodha, from the personal name
  Aodh, fire, the second most popular such anglicisation after Hayes, since
  Aodh was invariably translated as Hugh. Perhaps because of the example of the
  settlers, Hughes was the most frequent anglicisation amongst the Gaelic Irish
  in Ulster, where there were O Aodha at Ballyshannon (Co Donegal), Ardstraw
  (Co Tyrone), Tynan (Co Armagh), Farney (Co Monaghan), and south Co Down.
  In places, too, Hughes became the English version of Mac Aoidh or MacAodha,
  more usually given as Magee or McHugh.


  HURLEY
  Hurley has become the English version of at least three distinct original
  Irish names: the O Uirthile, part of the Dal Cais tribal group, based in
  Clare and north Tipperary; the O Muirthile, based around Kilbritain in west
  Cork; and the O hIarlatha, from the district of Ballyvourney, also in Cork,
  whose name is more usually anglicised (O)Herlihy. The principal
  concentrations of Hurleys are today found in counties Topperary and Limerick,
  where they spread from the original Dalcassian homeland, and in Cork. An
  interesting example of the pseudo-translation of surnames is found in Clare,
  where some whose name was originally Hurley have now become Commane, since
  the Irish for the hurley-stick used in the sport of hurling is caman.


  JOHNSTON
  In form at least the surname is Scottish, deriving from the place of the name
  in Annandale in Dumfriesshire, which was originally Johns town. The original
  John was a Norman landowner in the area in the twelfth century, and instead
  of taking on the straightforward patronymic Johnson, his descendants adopted
  the placename as their surname, becoming Johnston(e)s.  This family, the
  source of virtually all Scottish bearers of the name, became one on the
  strongest and most unruly of the Border clans, and their long feud with
  another clan, the Maxwells, was notorious for its ferocity. When the clans
  were eventually pacified and scattered by James II, many Johnstons fled to
  Ulster where, like large numbers from the other clans - Elliots, Armstrongs,
  Nixons and others - they settled mainly in Co Fermanagh, where the surname is
  today the second most numerous in the county. As well as these Johnstons,
  however, many others whose name was originally Johnson adopted the Scottish
  name.  Such adoptions occurred predominantly in Ulster, and affected those of
  Scottish and of native Irish origin, with the Maclans of Caithness
  translating their surname as Johnson, and then altering it to Johnston in
  many vcases, and the MacShanes of the Armagh/Tyrone district, a branch of the
  O Neills, doing likewise.


  JONES
  Jones is an extremely common surname in England and Wales, one of the wide
  range of names derived from the personal name John. It is a patronymic,
  coming from the genetic form Johns. Its widespread popularity in Wales is due
  to the form adopted in the Welsh translation of the Authorised Version of the
  Bible, Ioan, phonetically close to the modern surname. In Ireland it is quite
  widespread, coming among the two hundred most frequent names, and is
  understandably most closely associated with areas where English influence was
  strongest.


  JOYCE
  Joyce derives from the Breton personal name Iodac, a diminutive of iudh,
  meaning lord, which was adopted by the Normans as Josse. A number of English
  surnames arose from this Norman original, including Joce, Joass, and Joyce,
  this last being far more frequent in Ireland than anywhere else. The first
  bearer of the name in Ireland was a Thomas de Joise, of Norman Welsh
  extraction, who married a daughter of the O Brien Princes of Thomond in 1283,
  and settled in the far west of Connacht, on the borders of the modern
  counties of Mayo and Galway. Their descendants became completely
  gaelicised, ruling that territory, today still known as Joyces Country, down
  to the seventeenth century. The surname remains strongly associateed with the
  area, with a large majority of Joyces originating in counties Galway and
  Mayo. The most famous modern bearer of the name was James Joyce (1882-1941),
  author of Dubliners, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and
  Finnegans Wake, said to have been the only twentieth-century novelist to
  publish nothing but masterpieces.



  KANE
  Kane and O Kane are the most common anglicised versions of the Irish O
  Cathain, from at diminutive of cath, meaning battle. Kane and O Kane are most
  frequent in Ulster, where O Cathain arose as a surname in the Laggan district
  of east Donegal, as part of the Cineal Eoghain, the large group of families
  descended form Eoghan, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the fifth-century
  monarch who founded the Ui Neill dynasty and was supposedly responsible for
  the kidnapping of St Patrick to Ireland. In the twelfth century these Ulster
  O Cathain conquered a large territory to the east of their original homeland
  around Coleraine and Keenaght in what is now Co. Derry, and remained powerful
  and important in that area down to the wars of the seventeenth century.
  Their last chief died in the Tower of London in 1628. Two other common
  surnames, McCloskey and McAcinney, are offshoots of O Cathain, stemming
  respectively from the twelfth-century Bloskey O Cathain, and Aibhne O
  Cathain. Kane remains particularly common in the Coleraine district of Co.
  Derry, and the adjoining county of Antrim.


  KAVANAGH
  Kavanagh, along with its variants Cavanagh, Cavanaugh etc., is the English
  version of Caomhanach, one of the very few Gaelic Irish surnames not to
  include O or Mac. It means follower of (St) Caomhan, a name which is itself a
  diminutive of caomh, meaning gentle or tender. It was first borne as a
  surname in the twelfth century by Donal, illegitimate son of Dermot
  MacMurrough, King of Leinster. He became known as Donal Caomhanach through
  having been fostered by a successor of the saint based probably at Kilcavan
  in Bannow parish in south Co. Wexford.  Although this Donal was the first
  bearer of the name, in fact the majority of the Kavanagh septs that
  proliferated from the fifteenth century on descend from Art
  MacMurrough Kavanagh, King of Leinster, who died in 1418. The territory of
  the Kavanaghs at this period was huge, comprising nearly all of the modern
  Co. Carlow, and most of north and northwest Co. Wexford. This was known as
  the Kavanaghs country and with good reason: Art held complete control over
  it, even receiving dues from the English crown, the black rent as it was
  known. The chiefs of the family continued to take the ruling title
  MacMurrough, but by the mid-sixteenth century their power was on the wane,
  and was decisively broken by the start of the seventeenth century, when
  English rule was established and north Wexford planted with English settlers.
  Despite their loss of power and property, the line of descent from the last
  duly inaugurated Chief of the Name, Bran Kavanagh, the MacMorrough, remains
  unbroken; the title is now held by his descendant Andrew MacMorrogh Kavanagh
  of Borris, Co. Carlow. The most famous modern bearer of the name was
  Patrick Kavanagh (1904-1967), who was the first poet of modern Ireland to
  give voice to the realities of life in the new state, as well as being a
  powerful polemicist.


  KEANE
  Like Keane, Keane is an anglicisation of O Cathain, from a diminutive of
  cath, meaning battle. As an anglicisation, however, it is much more common in
  Connacht than in Ulster, the homeland of Kanes.  This is because O Cathain
  arose separately as a surname in Co. Galway, where the family were a branch
  of the historic Ui Fiachra tribal grouping. Traditionally it has been
  believed that the prominent Clare Keanes were an offshoot of the Ulster O
  Cathain, but the closeness of Clare and Galway must make this doubtful. A
  distinct family, the O Cein from Co. Waterford have anglicised their name as
  Kean, but without the final e. The famous actors Edmund Kean (1787-1833) and
  his son Charles (1811-1880) were of this family.


  KEARNEY
  Kearney is common and widespread in Ireland, and has a number of different
  origins. In the west it originated in Co. Mayo, near Moynulla and Balla, the
  territory of the O Cearrnaigh (from cearnach, meaning victorious), where it
  has sometimes also been anglicised as Carney. A separate family of the same
  name, but anglicised as (O) Kearney, arose in Clare, and migrated in early
  times to the area around Cashel in Co. Tipperary. In Ulster the name derives
  from Mac Cearnaigh, also from cearnach; they were part of the Cineal Eoghain,
  the large group of families descended from Eoghan, son of Niall of the Nine
  Hostages, the fifth-century monarch who founded the Ui Neill dynasty and was
  supposedly responsible for the kidnapping of St Patrick to Ireland. The most
  historically important family, however, were the O Catharnaigh, from
  catharnach, meaning warlike. These were chiefs of a large territory in the
  midlands, in the modern counties of Meath and Offaly; one of their number
  became Baron Kilcoursey, from the placename in Offaly. The composer of the
  Irish national anthem was Peader Kearney (1883-1942).


  KEATING
  Although Keating is found as a surname in England, where it derives from the
  Old English Cyting, from cyt, meaning kite, in Ireland it is almost always of
  Norman origin. The family arrived with the Cambro-Norman invaders in the
  twelfth-century and soon became thoroughly Irish, settling in south Leinster,
  and particularly in Co. Wexford, where the name is still very common.
  The most famous historical bearer of the name was Geoffrey Keating (or
  Seathrun Ceitin) the poet and historian who lived in the first half of the
  seventeenth century and wrote Foras Feasa ar Eirinn, the narrative history of
  the country defending it against the accounts given by foreign writers. In
  modern times the painter Sean Keating (1889-1977) specialised in traditional
  scenes, and was president of the Royal Hibernian Academy for fourteen years.


  KELLEHER
  Kelleher, and its variants Kiliher, Kellahar etc., are the English versions
  of the Irish name O Ceileachair, from ceileachar, meaning uxorious, overly
  fond of ones wife.  The original Ceileachar from whom the family claim
  descent was a nephew of Brian Boru, and part of the Dal Cais tribal grouping.
  Although the family originated in Clare, homeland of the Dal Cais, they
  migrated southeast to Co. Cork in the fourteenth century and it is now in
  that county and the adjoining Co. Kerry that the surname is most frequently
  found. It is sometimes abbreviated to Keller, a name more usually associated
  with Germany, and in this form is recorded in Co. Cork.


  KELLY
  Kelly comes from the Irish O Ceallaigh, based on the popular personal name
  Ceallach, which may mean either bright-haired or troublesome. The popularity
  of the name meant that it was incorporated into permanent surnames in between
  seven and ten different places, including Co. Meath, north Wicklow, the
  Antrim\Derry area, Co. Sligo, Galway\Roscommon, north Down and Co. Laois.The
  most prominent of these families are the O Kellys of Ui Maine, or Hy Many, an
  ancient territory taking in east Galway and south Roscommon, also known
  simply as O Kellys Country. Their pedigree takes them back to Maine Mor,
  first chief of the area bearing his name, who lived in the fifth century. His
  descendant Ceallach (died c.874) was the twelfth chief , and it is from him
  that the surname derives. His great-great-grandson Tadhg Mor, who died at the
  battle of Clontarf in 1014, was the first to use the name in true hereditary
  fashion.  Despite the loss of most of their possessions in the
  catastrophic wars of the seventeenth century, a loss shared with most of the
  rest of the Gaelic aristocracy, the succession to the position of head of the
  sept has continued unbroken down to the present incumbent, Walter Lionel
  O Kelly of Gallagh and Tycooly, Count of the Holy Roman Empire, known as the
  O Kelly, and recognised as such by the Chief Herald of Ireland.
  Today, Kelly and O Kelly are almost as numerous in Ireland as Murphy, and are
  to be found throughout Ireland. Individuals of the name have been prominent
  in all spheres of Irish life. The best-known modern Irish sculptor was Oisin
  Kelly (1915-1981); Charles E. Kelly (1902-1981) was one of the founders of
  Dublin Opinion, the most famous satirical magazine to appear in Ireland, and
  James OKelly (1845-1915) had a remarkable career as a war correspondent and
  member of Parliament.


  KENNEDY
  Kennedy in Irish is O Cinneide, from a compound word meaning ugly-headed or
  rough-headed. The original bearer of the name, from whom the family claim
  descent, was a nephew of Brian Boru. His descendants were one of the most
  powerful families in the famous Dal Cais tribal grouping, and migrated from
  their homeland near Killaloe in Clare into adjoining north Tipperary, to
  become Lords of Ormon for over four hundred years up to the sixteenth
  century. From there the surname spread farther afield, becoming one of the
  most numerous and widespread in Ireland. In Ulster, many Kennedys are
  originally of Scottish stock, the Mac Kennedys being a branch of the Clan
  Cameron.  The surname is now also very common in Galloway and Ayrshire. The
  most famous modern bearer of the name was, of course, John F. Kennedy,
  thirty-fifth president of the U.S., descended from a Wexford branch of the
  Dalcassian family.


  KENNY
  In Irish Kenny is generally O Cionaodha, from the personal name Cionadh, of
  uncertain origin. It was borne by a high-king of Ireland Cionaodh mac
  Irgalaig in the eight century, and seems to have become popular after this.
  At any rate O Cionaodha arose as a separate surname in a number of places,
  including Co. Tyrone, and the Galway/Roscommon region. This latter family was
  the most important historically, lords of Munter Kenny, and it is from then
  that the majority of Irish Kennys spring.  In Ulster, Kenny was also the
  anglicisation of the separate O Coinne, based in Co. Down, and became a
  synonym for a number of other names, including McKenna, Canning and Keaney.
  The stage designer and director Sean Kenny (1933-1973) had achieved
  international fame when he died suddenly.


  KEOGH
  Keogh, and its variant Kehoe, are the anglicisations of the Irish Mac
  Eochaidh, from eoch, meaning horse. It arose as a surname in three distinct
  areas. The first was in south Roscommon, around Moyfinn in the barony of
  Athlone, which used to be known as Keoghs country. This family was part of
  the Ui Mhaine tribal grouping. The second was in west Tipperary, near
  Limerick city; the placename Ballymackeogh marks the centre of their
  territory. The third and most important, both numerically and historically,
  was in Leinster, where the original homeland was in north Kildare, whence
  they migrated first to Wicklow and then south to Wexford. It is in Wexford
  that the name has been most commonly anglicised Kehoe. The surname is now
  most frequent in Leinster, though it has become widespread throughout
  Ireland.


  KERR
  Kerr is Scottish and northern English in origin, describing a person who
  lived near overgrown marshland, kerr in northern Middle English. As might be
  expected, it is principally found in Ulster, where the majority of those
  bearing the name are descended from one of the Scottish Border riding clans,
  whose enforced migration in the seventeenth century also brought large
  numbers of Armstrongs, Johnstones and others to the province, where they
  settled, initially at least in Co. Fermanagh. A separate Scottish family of
  the name is part of the Clan Campbell in Argyllshire. As well as Scottish
  origins, however, Kerr (along with Carr) was used as the anglicisation of a
  number of native Ulster names, including Mac Giolla Chathair and Mac
  Ciarain (Kerin) in Donegal, O Cairre and Mac Cairre in Co. Armagh, and Mac
  Giolla Cheara in Co. Monaghan.


  KIELY
  Kiely is the anglicised version of the Irish O Cadhla, from cadhla, meaning
  beautiful. It was popular as a personal name among the tribal grouping the
  Dal Cais, who acquired the high-kingship of Ireland under Brian Boru in the
  eleventh century.  Their base was in the Clare/Limerick area, and this is the
  part of the country in which the surname is still most numerous, although it
  has now spread widely throughout Munster. The best known contemporary bearer
  of the surname in Ireland is the journalist and novelist Benedict Kiely,
  whose stories and essays are well-loved for their relaxed, anecdotal style.


  KING
  King is one of the most common surnames in Ireland, and is distributed
  throughout the country. In Ulster, many, though not all of those of the name,
  will be of English stock, bearing the English surname which originated simply
  as a description of someone of kingly bearing. The majority, however, are of
  native Irish origin, since King was used as a (mis)translation of a number of
  Irish names which contained sounds similar to ri, king.  Among the many such
  names are Mac Fhearadhaigh (McAree/McGarry) in Co. Monaghan, O Maolconaire
  and O Conraoi (Conroy/Conry) in Co. Roscommon, Mac Conraoi, (Conroy) in Co.
  Galway ( where the change to King was almost total), O Conaire (Connery) in
  Munster. In Ulster, in counties Antrim, Tyrone and Down, Mac Fhinn (Maginn)
  was also changed, by phonetic misrepresentation rather than mistranslation,
  to King.


  LEARY
  Leary and OLeary derive from the original Irish O Laoghaire, from Laoghaire,
  meaning a keeper of calves. Although there was a fifth-century king who gave
  his name to Dun Laoghaire, the port south of Dublin, no connection exists
  with the surname, which originated in Co. Cork and is even today to be found
  predominantly in that area. The family originally inhabited the rocky
  sea-cost of southwest Cork, between Roscarbery and Glandore, but the coming
  of the Normans displaced them, and they migrated to the mountains of
  Iveleary, which now incorporates their name, where they were and are
  particularly associated with the district of Inchigeelagh.


  LEE
  In appearance Lee is a common English name, used either for a person who
  lived near a pasture or meadow, from the Old English lea, or for a person
  from one of the many places so called, such as Lea in Shropshire, and many
  bearing the name in Ireland today will be descended from English settlers.
  In the majority of cases, however, Lee is the anglicised version of a
  number of original Irish names: O Laoidhigh, from laoidheach, meaning poet or
  poetic, which arose separately in Connacht in west Galway, and in the south
  in the Cork/Limerick area, and Mac Laoidhigh, (McLee) from the same stem,
  which is found in Co. Laois. In Ulster Mac an Leagha (McAlee), was also
  sometimes anglicised as Lee, as was, in Co. Monaghan, Mac Giolla Eachaidh
  (McCloy). The most historically notable of the families were the OLees of
  Galway, powerful subchieftains under the O Flahertys.


  LENEHAN
  Lenehan is the anglicised version of the Irish O Leannachain, possibly from
  leannach, meaning sorrowful. It appears to have arisen separately in two
  localities, in Co. Roscommon in the west, and in the south in the
  Limerick/Tipperary region. Bearers of the surname are found in both areas
  today, but is most common in the south. The most prominent contemporaries of
  the name are Brian Lenihan (1924-1996) and his younger sister Mrs Mary
  O Rourke, of the Roscommon family, who both served in a variety of
  ministerial positions in the Irish government from the 1970s to the 1990s.


  LENNON
  Lennon is primarily the anglicised form of the Irish O Leannain, from
  leannan, meaning lover. However, O Leannain has also sometimes been
  anglicised as Linnane or even Leonard.  Additional uncertainty is caused by
  the fact that Lennon has occasionally been used as the English version of
  completely different Irish surnames, in particular O Lonain or O Lonagain
  (Lenane or Lannigan) based in west Cork, and O Luinigh (Lunney) originally
  from Donegal and now strongly associated with the adjoining Co. Fermanagh.
  The primary Irish source of Lennon, O Leannain, arose separately in east Co.
  Galway, in Co. Mayo, and in Co. Fermanagh. Historically, the most important
  were the Fermanagh family, who held land and ecclesiastical office in the
  parish of Inishmacsaint. Today, Lennon remains common in Ulster, but
  elsewhere has spread from its traditional homelands to become most frequent
  in the eastern province of Leinster.


  LONG
  In appearance at least Long is a typical English surname or Scottish name,
  derived from a nickname for a tall person. In addition, the Norman names de
  Lung and de Long have become Long over the centuries. No doubt many in
  Ireland bearing the surname today are of English, Scottish or Norman descent.
  However, there were also two native Gaelic families, the O Longain and the
  O Longaigh, whose name have been anglicised Long. O Longain, also anglicised
  as Langan, arose initially in Co. Armagh, but quickly spread throughout the
  northern counties, and is now most common in Ulster in Co. Donegal. It seems
  likely that it shares its probable linguistic origin with O Longaigh,
  deriving from long, ship, and therefore meaning seafarer. O Longaigh arose in
  the south of the country, in Co.  Cork. The earliest records of the family,
  dating from the fourteenth century, show then as prosperous hereditary
  occupiers of church lands in the parish of Cannovee, in the barony of
  Muskerry in mid-Cork. This, together with the neighbouring parish of Moviddy,
  is the area with which the family remain most strongly associated down to the
  present. They took part on the losing side in the wars of the seventeenth
  century and, like virtually all of the native aristocracy, lost their
  possessions. Unlike most of the others, however, the descent from the last
  duly inaugurated Chief of the Name, Dermod OLongy, remains unbroken. The
  official title is O Long of Garrenelongy, referring to a townland in the
  parish of Moviddy, and the current holder, officially recognised by the Chief
  Herald of Ireland, is Denis Long.


  LYNCH
  Lynch, which is today one of the most common surnames throughout Ireland, is
  unusual in that is has tow completely distinct origins. The first is Norman,
  from de Lench, possibly derived from a placename now forgotten. The family
  settled initially in Co. Meath, and a branch then established itself in
  Galway, where they rapidly became one of the strongest of the Tribes of
  Galway; one of their number, James Lynch, mayor in 1493, is reputed to have
  hanged his own son for murder when no one else could be found to carry out
  the sentence. The second origin for the name is Gaelic, from the Irish O
  Loinsigh, from loinseach, meaning seaman. This arose quite separately in a
  number of areas, including Clare/Limerick, Sligo, west Cork, Cavan, Donegal
  and the north Antrim/Derry region, where they were chiefs of the old kingdom
  of Dal Riada in medieval times. As the variety of geographical sources
  implies, the Gaelic origin is responsible for the wide frequency of the
  surname today.


  LYONS
  Lyons is one of the commonest surnames in Ireland particularly in the three
  southern provinces. In Ulster especially it may be a variant of the English
  and Scottish surname Lyon, which can derive, as a nickname, from lion, from
  the first name Leo or Leon, or from the placename Lyon-la-Foret in Normandy.
  Elsewhere, however, Lyons is virtually always the anglicised version of one
  of two Irish names, O Laighin, from laighean, meaning grey. O Laighin
  originated in two areas, in Co. Kerry and in east Galway, where the familys
  territory was centred on Kilconnell. In Kerry, however, the name was almost
  invariably anglicised as Lyne. The O Liathain family are reputed to have
  originated in Co. Limerick, but are now to be found much more frequently in
  Co. Cork, particularly in the north of the county, where the village of
  Castlelyons records their presence. O Liathain has also been anglicised as
  Lehane.



  MACAULEY
  MacAuley and its many variants - Cawley, Gawley, Macauley, Magawley etc. -
  may be either Scottish or Irish in origin. They are anglicisations of two
  distinct Irish surnames, Mac Amhalgaidh (son of Auley) and Mac Amhlaoibh
  (son of Auliff).  The former derives from a native personal name now
  obsolete, and the family bearing the surname were rulers of a territory in
  what is now Offaly/Westmeath. The latter derives from a Gaelic version of the
  common Norse name Olaf, and the family claim descent from Amhlaoibh, son of
  the first Maguire king of Fermanagh, who ruled at the end of the thirteenth
  century.  They gave their name to the barony of Clanawley in that county. An
  entirely distinct family, the MacAuliffs of Munster, are descended from
  Amhlaoibh MacCarthy. In Scotland also the surname and its variants have the
  same two distinct origins, from the Gaelic and Norse personal names. The
  Scottish origin is most common in the northeast of Ulster, where a branch of
  the Dumbartonshire MacAuleys settled in the sixteenth century.


  MacAULIFFE
  The name MacAuliffe is almost peculiar to Co. Cork and is scarcely
  found outside Munster.  The MacAuliffes are a branch of the MacCarthys and
  their chief resided at Castle MacAuliffe near Newmarket, Co.  Cork.  Their
  territory in that part of the country is described in a grant of land to a
  stranger in 1612 as "Clan Auliffe".  It should be noted however that the term
  Clan Auliffe normally refers to a branch of the O'Farrells of Co. Longford
  and has no connexion with the sept of MacAuliffe.  The last recognized Chief
  of the name, Michael MacAuliffe, was according to Dalton a colonel in the
  Spanish army and died in Spain in 1720; O'Donovan however ascribes that
  position to a minor official at Kenmare in 1840.  In Irish the name is Mac
  Amhlaoibh, i.e., son of Auliffe (anglice Humphrey).  The same Gaelic name is
  also anglicized MacAuley, which is an entirely different sept (q.v.). The
  famous French physician Joseph Oliffe (1808 -1869) was actually born in Cork,
  his ancestral name being MacAuliffe.

  MACBRIDE
  MacBride comes from the Irish Mac Giolla Bhride son of the follower of
  (St) Bridget; St Bridget was a famous abbess of Kildare , who died in 525.
  Also derived from the same Irish original are the surnames Kilbride,
  Gilbride, MacIlvreed, MacGilbride and others. The principal Irish family of
  the name were based in the north of Co. Donegal in Raymunterdoney, where they
  were very prominent in the church, a number of the family becoming bishops. A
  branch migrated in Co. Down in early times, where the surname remains quite
  numerous. In Ulster also, the name may have a Scottish origin, from the
  descendants of one Gillebride, progenitor of one branch of the Clan Donald.
  The best known contempory bearer of the surname was Sean MacBride
  (1904-1988), active on the Republican side in the War of Independence and
  after, Minister for External Affairs from 1948 to 1951, founder-member of the
  Amnesty International, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974, the Lenin
  Peace Prize in 1977 and the American Medal for Justice in 1978.


  MACCABE
  MacCabe derives from the Irish Mac Caba , from caba meaning cape or cloak.
  The family are thought originally to have been a branch of the MacLeods of
  Harris in the Hebrides. They came to Ireland from there in the mid-fourteenth
  century to act as gallowglasses (mercenaries) to the O Reillys and the
  O Rourkes, the ruling families in the kingdom of Breffny, the territory now
  part of counties Longford and Cavan. They became completely hibernicized and
  adopted the customs and practices of the Irish, including internecine war;
  having established themselves in neighbouring Fermanagh by the fifteenth
  century, they continued the struggle for control with the Maguires up to the
  final catastrophe of the seventeenth century. The surname also became
  prominent in other adjoining counties, in particular Co.  Monaghan.


  MCCANN
  There is a dispute as to whether McCann comes from the Irish MacAnna, son of
  Annadh, or Mac Cana, from cana, meaning wolf cub. At any rate, the major
  family of the name were known as lords of Clanbrassil, an area on the
  southern shores of Lough Neagh in the modern Co. Armagh, which they conquered
  from the O Garveys. They appear to have been a branch of the Cineal Eoghain,
  the large group of families claiming descent from Eoghan, one of the sons of
  Niall of the Nine Hostages, the fifth century founder of the Ui Neill
  dynasty. The death in 1155 of one of their chiefs, Amhlaoibh Mac Cana, is
  recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters with praise for his chivalry, his
  vigour, and the fine strong drink he made from the apples in his orchard.
  Today, the surname is found principally in counties Armagh, Tyrone and
  Antrim, though it has also spread southwards into the provinces of Leinster
  and Connacht.


  MACCARTHY
  MacCarthy comes form the Irish Mac Carthaigh, from carthach, meaning
  loving.The original Carthach from whom the surname is taken was king of
  Cashel c.1040, at a time when Donncha, son of Brian Boru, was king of
  Munster. Carthach was part of the dynasty claiming descent from Eoghan, one
  of the sons of Oiloll Ollum, the semi-legendary, third-century king of
  Munster. The Eoghanacht, as they were known, had dominated Munster virtually
  unchallenged until the meteoric rise of Brian, part of the rival Dal Cais,
  who claimed descent from Cas, another son of Oiloll Ollum. The Eoghanacht
  resisted the Dal Cais fiercely, with the result that the MacCarthys and the
  O Briens, with their respective allies, waged bitter, intermittent war
  on each other for almost a century and a half. In the middle of the twelfth
  century, the struggle was finally resolved with the expulsion of the
  MacCarthys from their homelands in the Golden Vale in Co.  Tipperary. They
  moved south, into the historic territory of Desmond, and it is with this
  area, which includes the modern counties of Cork and Kerry, that they have
  been most strongly associated ever since. Despite their displacement, the
  MacCarthys retained their ability to rule. For almost five centuries they
  dominated much of Munster, with four distinct branches; those led by the
  MacCarthy Mor (Great MacCarthy), nominal head of all the MacCarthys, who
  ruled over much of south Kerry; the Dunhallow MacCarthys, who
  controlled northwest Cork; MacCarthy Riabhach (grey) based in Carbery in
  southwest Cork; and MacCarthy Muskerry, on the Cork/Kerry border. Each of
  these families continued resistance to Norman and English encroachment up to
  the seventeenth century when, like all the Gaelic aristocracy, they lost
  almost everything. Unlike many others, however, the line of descent of the
  senior branch was not lost. The current holder of the title MacCarthy Mor,
  recognised as such by the Chief Herald of Ireland, is Terence MacCarthy, now
  resident in Morocco.



  MacCOLGAN
  In early mediaeval times the prefix O was found with Colgan as well as Mac.
  O'Dugan, who died in 1372, mentions O'Colgan as lord of a territory in the
  modern barony of Tirkeeran, Co. Derry. This was the homeland of one of the
  two distinct septs of Colgan.  Later, when somewhat reduced in influence,
  they were erenaghs of Donaghmore in Inishowen. In the course of time these
  O'Colgans became MacColgans, influenced no doubt by the fact that the more
  important sept, located in Offaly was MacColgan. There is a reference to
  these in the Four Masters as early as 1212. Rev. John Colgan (d.1658),
  Franciscan friar, professor of theology at Louvain and author of Acta
  Sanctorum Hiberniae etc., was of the Tirkeeran (Derry) O'Colgan sept, but his
  relative a hundred years later, who was Bishop of Derry and suffered severely
  in the penal times, was known as John MacColgan (d.1765). MacColgan, as we
  know from tombstones and other records, was the usual form of the name in
  Counties Derry and Donegal up to the beginning of the nineteenth century.
  Another notable missionary prelate was Most Rev. Joseph Colgan (1824- 911),
  Archbishop of Madras. He came from Westmeath, not far from the ancient seat
  of the chiefs of his sept, which was Kilcolgan in Offaly. This sept was of
  the same stock as the O'Dempseys and the O'Dunnes of Leix and Offaly.
  The name is not common in Ireland to-day: it is found chiefly in Offaly and
  also to some extent in northern Ulster.

  MacDonagh
  MacDonagh, and its many variants, MacDonough, Donogh, Donaghy etc all derive
  from the Irish Mac Donnchadha, from donnchadh (often anglicised 'Donagh'), a
  popular first name meaning 'brown one'. The early popularity of the name
  meant that the surname based on it arose separately in two places; in Co
  Cork, where the MacDonaghs were known as 'Lords of Duhallow', and in Co
  Sligo, where the family were rulers in the barony of Tirreril. The Sligo
  MacDonaghs were in fact a branch of the MacDermotts, claiming Donagh
  MacDermott as their ancestor.  Today the name is rare in Cork, but has
  become very widespread in the western province of Connacht. The best known
  modern bearer of the name is Donagh MacDonagh (1912-1968), the poet,
  dramatist and lawyer, whose most successful play, Happy as Larry, has been
  translated into a dozen languages.


  MacDonald
  MacDonald is extremely numerous and widespread throughout Ireland. It is
  commonly a confusion for MacDonnell, and shares the same origin, coming from
  the Gaelic personal name Domhnall, meaning 'world mighty'. However, true
  MacDonalds are descendants of the Scottish clan of the name. They are one of
  the group of Scottish clans who claim descent from Conn of the Hundred
  Battles, the legendary Irish king, through Colla Uais, who colonised the
  Hebrides. Their name comes from Donald of Islay, one of the sons of
  Somhairle, Lord of Argyle. By the fifteenth century they were the most
  powerful clan in Scotland, controlling the entire western coast of the
  country. Their involvement in Ireland was continuous from the thirteenth
  century, when they first arrived as gallowglasses, or mercenaries; such was
  their fame that they were employed in virtually every local war, spreading
  and settling throughout the country over the following centuries. Inevitably,
  their main connection remained with Ulster. A secondary influx into that
  province of settlers bearing the name occurred in the eighteenth century,
  when the Highland clearances caused great forced migration from Scotland.


  MacDonnell
  MacDonnell, often confused with MacDonald, comes from the Irish Mac
  Domhnaill, from the personal name Domhnall, a compound made up of 'world' and
  'strong'. It is common and widely distributed throughout Ireland. The
  principal source of the name outside Ulster is in the old kingdom of Thomond,
  in the Clare/Limerick area, where the MacDonnells were hereditary poets to
  the O'Briens. Many other southern MacDonnells will in fact be descendants of
  MacDonald gallowglasses (see MacDonald). In Ulster, the most prominent native
  family were the MacDonnells of Clankelly, rulers of Fermanagh before the rise
  of the Maguires. Displaced by their loss of power, they settled in the north
  of the adjoining Co Monaghan, and remain numerous in the area. the
  MacDonnells of Antrim are in fact descendants of the Clan Donald. In the
  sixteenth century Somhairle Buidhe ('Sorley Boy') MacDonnell conquered a
  large part of that county and defended it tenaciously against Gaelic
  Irish and English intrusions. In 1620 his son, Randal MacSorley MacDonald,
  was created Earl of Antrim.


  MacEvoy
  MacEvoy (or MacAvoy) is the phonetic anglicisation of Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe,
  possibly from the Irish fiodhbhadhach, 'man of the woods'. The most prominent
  family of the name originally held power in the barony of Moygoish in modern
  Co. Westmeath, but migrated southwest, where they became one of the
  well-known 'Seven Septs of Leix', ruling over an area in the parishes of
  Mountrath and Raheen in Co Laois. In the early seventeenth century the most
  important leaders of the family were forcibly transported to Co Kerry,
  together with other members of the 'Seven Septs', but the surname remains
  numerous in the Laois/Westmeath region. In the north of the country, MacEvoy
  was used as an erroneous equivalent of MacGiolla Bhuidhe, 'son of the
  fair-haired youth', a Donegal name usually anglicised as 'McIlwee' or
  'MacKelvey', and of Mac an Bheatha, 'son of life' (MacVeigh), a surname
  common in the Armagh/Louth region.


  MacGillycuddy
  The surname comes from the Irish MacGiolla Mochuda, meaning 'son of the
  devotee of (St) Mochuda'. Its adoption was quite unusual. St Mochuda, a pet
  form of Carthach, meaning 'loving', was the seventh-century founder of the
  important monastic settlement of Lismore, in Co Waterford. He was a native of
  Kerry, and when his fellow Kerryman Ailinn O'Sullivan became bishop of the
  diocese of Lismore in the mid-thirteenth century, he initiated the practice
  of the O'Sullivans paying particular devotion to this saint. As a result, the
  practice grew up among one of the leading families of the O'Sullivans of
  using Giolla Mochuda as a kind of title. The first to use Mac Giolla Mochuda
  was Conor, who is recorded as having slain Donal O'Sullivan Beare in 1563.
  His family, descendants of Donal Mor O'Sullivan, the common ancestor of
  O'Sullivan Mor and O'Sullivan Beare (see O'Sullivan), continued to be known
  as 'MacGillycuddy O'Sullivan' or 'MacGillycuddy alias O'Sullivan' well into
  the seventeenth century, when MacGillycuddy became established as a surname
  in its own right. Even at this point, less-well-off members of the family
  continued to be known as 'O'Sullivan' for quite some time. The family
  controlled a large territory in the Kerry baronies of Magunihy and Dunkerron;
  the name of the great mountains in Dunkerron, MacGillycuddys Reeks, preserves
  the record of their ownership. Members of the family retained large estates
  in the area down to the twentieth century. Unlike many other families of the
  old Gaelic aristocracy, their line of descent remains clear down to the
  present day; the current holder of the title 'the MacGillycuddy of the
  Reeks', recognised as such by the Genealogical Office, is Richard Denis Wyer
  MacGillycuddy, now resident in France.


  MacGovern
  MacGovern is the phonetic anglicisation of Mag Shamhradhain, from a
  diminutive of samhradh, 'summer'. The name is closely linked with the
  original homeland where it first arose; in the traditional genealogies,
  Shamhradhan, the eleventh-century individual from whom the surname comes, was
  himself descended from Eochaidh, one of the O'Rourkes, who lived in the
  eighth century. His name was given to the area of Co Cavan where the
  MacGoverns held sway, the barony of Tullyhaw (Teallach Eochaidh), in the
  northwest of the county. The particular centres of their power were Bawnaboy,
  Lissanover, and Ballymagauran. This last includes an earlier anglicisation of
  Mag Shamhradhain, 'Magauran' or 'MacGowran', now much less common than
  MacGovern. From Cavan, the name has now spread throughout Connacht and
  Ulster, and is particularly numerous in the adjoining counties of Fermanagh
  and Leitrim.


  MacGowan
  MacGowan (or Magowan) is the phonetic anglicisation of the Irish Mac Gabhann
  and the Scottish Mac Gobhann, both meaning 'son of the smith'. In Ireland the
  surname originated in central Co Cavan, in what was once the ancient kingdom
  of Breffny, where the MacGowans were among the most powerful families.
  However, in Cavan itself a large majority translated their surname and became
  Smiths (see also the entry for that name).  Outside Cavan, in the adjoining
  counties of Leitrim, Donegal, Sligo and Monaghan, MacGowan was the most
  popular English form, and the surname is most numerous in those counties
  today, with the largest number in Co Donegal. There, a family of MacGowans
  held Church lands in the parish of Inishmacsaint. Because of their
  prominence, a separate Donegal family based near Raphoe, the Mac Dhubhain
  (from a diminutive of dubh, 'black') also anglicised their name as MacGowan,
  adding to the numbers bearing the name in that county.


  MacGrath
  MacGrath, and its many variants: Magrath, MacGraw, Magra, comes from the
  Irish MacRaith, from the personal name Rath, meaning 'grace' or 'prosperity'.
  Two native Irish families adopted the name, one based on the borders of the
  modern counties of Donegal and Fermanagh, around Termon MacGrath, the other
  in Co Clare, where they were famous as hereditary poets to the ruling O'Brien
  family of Thomond. Today neither area can be claimed to have large numbers of
  the surname. The southern family spread eastwards, into counties Tipperary
  and Waterford, while the northern familys descendants are now mainly to be
  found in Co Tyrone, where they settled around Ardstraw after being driven
  from their homeland by the O'Donnells. The most remarkable bearer of the name
  was of this family, Meiler Magrath (1523-1622), who managed to be
  simultaneously, Catholic Bishop of Down and Connor and Protestant Archbishop
  of Cashel. His rapacity was notorious, and he held six Anglican bishoprics,
  four of them at the one time, as well as the income of seventy parishes. For
  his pains he lived to be a hundred years old.


  MacGuinness
  MacGuinness, together with its variants Guinness, Magennis, MacNeice,
  MacCreesh and others, comes from the Irish Mac Aonghasa, from the personal
  name Aonghas ('Angus'), made up of aon 'one' and gus 'choice', which was
  borne by a famous eight-century Pictish king of Scotland, said to be a son of
  the Irish god Daghda, and Boinn, the goddess who gave her name to the river
  Boyne. The surname originated in Iveagh, in what is now Co Down, where the
  family displaced the O'Haugheys in the twelfth century, ruling over the
  region down to the seventeenth century.  The centre of their power was at
  Rathfriland. In the sixteenth century they accepted the Reformation, but
  joined in the later wars against the English and were dispossessed of
  all their lands. The name is now common in Connacht and Leinster, as well as
  in its original homeland of Ulster. A southern offshoot of the family adopted
  the variant MacCreesh, and in Monaghan, Fermanagh and south Down that name
  was used as an equivalent of MacGuinness. North of the original homeland, in
  Co Antrim, a similar process occurred, with MacNiece or MacNeice the variant