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Origin of Irish Surnames
-by Kathi Reid
Irish Family Names
Irish surnames have Gaelic and Norman roots. In Northern Ireland, English and Scottish names, derived from the Gaelic, can also be found. During the 1600s and 1700s, when Irish names were discouraged, some Irish families adopted English surnames.
Many Irish names have an "O" or "Mc" prefix. "O" means grandson and "Mc" means son. During the 1700s and early 1800s, when the Irish language was dying, there was a gradual dropping of the "O" and "Mc" from names. As awareness of Gaelic heritage was renewed, these prefixes were restored. When searching for Irish names, be sure to check your surname both with and without the prefix e.g. Sullivan and O'Sullivan.
- Patronymic Surnames
Suffix mean "son of"
Mac, Mc - son of
O' - grandson of
- Geographical Surnames
Suffix Derived from nearby locations.
Bally– (town), –more (big), or –beg (small)
Some of the most common Irish surnames in the US:
Boyle
Brennan
Brown
Burke
Burns
Calhoun
Callahan
Campbell
Carroll
Clark(e)
Collins
Conley
Conner
Daugherty
Duffy
Dunn
Farrell
Ferguson / Fergusen
Fitzgerald
Flynn
Gallagher
Hays / Hayes
Hughes
Kelly
Kennedy
Lynch
Martin
McCarthy
McDonald
McGuire
Moore
Murphy
Murray
Nolan
O'Brien
O'Donnell
O'Neil
Quinn
Reilly
Ryan
Smith
Sullivan
Sweeney
Thompson
Walsh
White
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