Irish people

Irish ethnicity is common in many countries. Many people are descended from Irish emigrants.

Surnames

:See also: Irish name

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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.

Related Topics:
Anglicised - English - United States - 19th - 20th centuries

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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 similar Gaelic heritage), meant "son of"; many names also begin with this. Some common surnames that begin with O are: O Niell, O Brien, O Leary, O Shaugnessy, O Donnell, O Toole, O Meara, O Malley, O Hara, and O Bradaigh. Some names that begin with Mc are: McGroyn, McGuinty, McStiofain, McDonagh, McDonald, McGuinness, McGonigle, McGuire and many others.

Related Topics:
Mc - Grandson - Descendant - High King of Ireland - Brian Boru - O'Brien - Clan - Son

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"Fitz" is an Irish version of the Norman-French phrase "fils" 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.

Related Topics:
Irish - Norman - Intermarriage - Alliance

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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".

Related Topics:
12th - 13th centuries - Norman - Welsh - Flemish - Breton - Diarmait Mac Murchada

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Viking surnames:

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• Archbold (Asbjorne)
• Calf? (Hascalf?)
• Cauley (Mac Olaf)
• Doyle (Dubh Gall)
• Harald (Haraldsson)
• Higgins (h-Uiginn, a Viking)
• MacCottor (Ottarsson)
• MacKitterick (Strigsson)
• Wood (Wode)

Norman/Norman-French surnames:

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

Breton surnames:

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• Brett (le Breton)
• Power (le Poer)

Flemish surnames:

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• Baldwin (Baudoin)
• Fleming (le Fleming)

Welsh surnames:

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• 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:

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

Normanised Gaelic surnames:

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

Gaelicised Norman-era surnames:

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