Irish people: Encyclopedia II - Irish people - Surnames

Irish people - Surnames

It is common for some Irish surnames to be anglicised, meaning that they were changed to sound more English. This usually occurred with Irish immigrants arriving in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

It is also very common for people of Gaelic origin to have surnames beginning with "O" or "Mc" (less frequently "Mac" and occasionally shortened to just "Ma" at the beginning of the name). "O" comes from Ua (originally hUa), which means "grandson", or "descendant" of a named person. For example, the descendants of High King of Ireland Brian Boru were known as the O'Brien clan. "Mc" and "Mac", both Irish and Scottish surname prefixes (the Irish and Highland Scots sharing a common Gaelic heritage), means "son of"; many names also begin with this. Some common surnames that begin with O are: O Neill, O Brien, O Connor, O Leary, O Shaughnessy, O Donnell, O Powell, O Toole, O Meara, O Malley, O Hara, and O Bradaigh. Some names that begin with Mc are: McGroyn, McGuinty, McStiofain, McDonagh, McDonald, McQuillan, McGuinness, McGonigle, McGuire and many others.

"Fitz" is an Irish version of the Norman word "fis" meaning son. A few names that begin with Fitz are: FitzGerald, FitzSimmons, FitzGibbons, FitzPatrick and FitzHenry. Certain names that begin with Fitz were originally Irish, but were then Normanised through intermarriages and family alliances. For example, FitzSimmons came from MacSioman; Mac Giolla Padhraig became FitzPatrick.

In the late 12th and 13th centuries Norman, Welsh, Flemish and Breton peoples arrived in Ireland at the request of King Diarmait Mac Murchada of Lenister, and took over parts of the island. During the next three hundred years, they intermarried with ruling Irish clans, adopted Irish culture and the Irish language and as the English put it "became more Irish than the Irish themselves".

It should be emphasised, especially with Gaelic surnames, there may be two or more unrelated families bearing the same or similar surnames. For example, there were at least nine separate Ó Ceallaigh septs, all unrelated. The Mac Lochlainn, Ó Mael Sechlainn, Ó Mael Sechnaill, Ó Conchobair Mac Loughlin and Mac Diarmata Mac Loughlin familys, all distinct, are now all subsumed together as MacLoughlin. The full surname usually indicated which exact family the family was, something that has being diminished with the loss of prefixes such as Ó and mac. Furthermore, different branches of a family with the same surname sometimes used distinguishing epitats, which sometimes became surnames in their own right.

The fact that many similar surnames are found in Scotland mainly derives from use of a common language, and does not necessarily denote kinship.

Gaelic surnames:

• Ó Murchadha, Mac Murchaidh (Murphy)
• Ó Ceallaigh (Kelly)
• Ó Dálaigh (Daly/O'Daly/Daley)
• Ó Súileabháin (Sullivan)
• Ó Briain (O'Brien)
• Ó Broin (Byrne)
• Ó Maoilriain/Ó Riain (Ryan)
• Ó Conchobhair (O Connor, Connors)
• Ó Neill (O Neill)
• Ó Raghallaigh (O Reilly)
• Mac Carthaigh (MacCarty)
• Ó Dochartaigh/Ó Dubhartaigh (Docherty)
• Ó Cinnéide/Mac Cinnéide(Kennedy)
• Ó Loingsigh/Mac Loinsigh/(Lynch, Lynchy, Lynskey)
• Mac Gilla Mhartain/Ó Mael Mairthin/Ó Mhairtin/Mac Mairtin (GilMartin, KilMartin, Martin, Martyn)
• Mac Giolla Mhuire/Mac Muireadhaigh/Ó Muireadhaigh(Murray)
• Mac Cuinn/ Ó Cuinn (Quinn)
• Mac Fhirbhisigh (Forbes)
• Ó Mordha/Mac Gilla Mhuire(Moore)
• Ó Flaithbheartaigh (O Flaherty)
• Mac Gille Mo Chuda (MacGillacuddy)
• Mac Murchadha Caomhánach (Mac Murrough, Mac Morrow, Mac Murrough Kavanagh, Kavanagh)
• Mac Lochlainn/Mac Loughlin/Ó Mael Sechlainn/Ó Mael Sechnaill/ (MacLoughlin)
• Mac Piers (MacPierce/Pierce)
• Ó Braonáin/Mac Braonáin(Brennen)
• Ó Conghaile/Mac Conghaile/Ó Cionnfhaolaidh(Connolly/Conneely/Kennelly)
• O'Teamhnainn (Tynan)
• Craig (Craig, also a first name)

Viking surnames:

• Doyle (Dubh Gall)
• Harald (Haraldsson)
• Higgins (h-Uiginn, i.e., a Viking)
• MacCottor (Ottarsson)
• MacKitterick (Strigsson)
• Wood (Wode, meaning mad; described Beserkers)

Norman/Norman-French surnames:

• Archdecon (le Ercedekne)
• Burke (de Burgh)
• Cheevers (la Chieve)
• Courcy (de Courcy)
• Nagle (de Nagle)
• FitzGerald (fitz Gerald)
• FitzHenry (fitz Henri)
• FitzStephen (fitz Stephen)
• Jordan (fitz Jordan)
• Lacey (de Lacy)
• Loundon (de Loudon)
• Plunkett (Blanquet)
• Wall (de Laval)

Breton surnames:

• Brett (le Breton)
• Power (le Poer)

Flemish surnames:

• Baldwin (Baudoin)
• Fleming (le Fleming)

Welsh surnames:

• Breathnach (Welshman)
• Brannagh (Welshman)
• Caddell (ap Cadel)
• Cadogan (ap Cadwgn)
• Griffin (ap Gruffydd)
• Joyce (Sais)
• Merrick (ap Meruig)
• Penrose (ap Rhys)
• Rice (ap Rhys)
• Rerys (ap Rerys)
• Taffe (Daffydd)

Anglo-Saxon:

• Ayleward (Ailwerd)
• Barrett (Barat)
• Dolphin (Dolfin)
• Lawless (laighles)
• Sherlock (scirlog)
• Skerrett (Huscarl)
• White (Fwyte)

Gallowglass surnames:

• Gallagher
• MacDonnall
• MacSweeney
• MacCaillein (Campbell)
• Mackey
• MacInnes
• MacGerr,McGirl, Short.

Normanised Gaelic surnames:

• FitzDermot (Mac Gilla Mo-Cholmoc)
• FitzPatrick (Mac Gilla Padraig)

Gaelicised Norman-era surnames:

• Mac Oisdealbhaigh (son of Josclyn de Nangle); anglicised as Costello.
• Mac Feoris (son of Piers de Bermingham); anglicised as Corish.
• Mac Gibbon (son of Gilbert de Burgh); anglicised as Gibbons.
• Mac Seonin (son of John Oge de Burgh); anglicised as Jennings.
• Mac Uilic (son of Ulick de Burgh of Umhall); anglicised as Gillick.

See 11 and 12 for further details.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Surnames", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki