Master book of irish surnames

It is probably the most complete book of irish surnames i have ever used. A further limitation is the fact that it includes only surnames having five or more birth entries thus excluding some of the rarer irish family names. Book of genealogies an leabhar muimhneach annals of the four masters. Here are the top 100 irish surnames youre bound to experience at least once in your life. His numerous books on irish surnames built upon the work of rev.

A dozen things you might not know about irish names. A list of irish surnames beginning with mac or mc, from mccann to mcsweeney. A list of irish surnames beginning with the letter o. The 100 most frequently found irish surnames and their gaelic meaning. It is one of three groups of irish nobility, the others being those nobles descended from the hibernonormans and those granted titles of nobility in the peerage of ireland. The master book of irish surnames, location, ethnicity, spellings, and sources by michael c. Enter your last name in the search box above to find out more information about your family name, including a description with the surnames origin and history, profiles, documents, projects and discussions. Irish family names reflect the long history of ireland. Whether youre looking to trace your family crest or trying to trace your family roots. The number and location of households of the name in ireland 184864.

The is the master volume to the irish families project, with family histories from every county in ireland and. Over the centuries, ireland has attracted people from various cultures, all of which have left their mark on the landscape of irish surnames. Whatever youd like to know about your irish surname it can probably be found in the master book of irish surnames this is not another surname history book it is a major source book for irish families, giving the various spellings, location, ethnicity and source of each. The seeds for this atlas of irish family names in ireland project were first sown. Search distribution of surnames in ireland, 1890 matheson. The book is very comprehensive, but requires extensive focused study to use. He served as chief herald and genealogical officer of the irish office. History of 50,000 irish and british surnames published. It also includes data from the master book of irish surnames, which is no longer available. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library. For convenience sake this online version has converted the old irish letters used in the original text to the roman alphabet, and exchanged the lenited or dotted consonants to their equivalents in the latter, e. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. In fact, some of the bestknown irish surnames, such as fitzgerald, joyce, walsh, power, and burke, come to us from the normans.

It comes from a variant of the word boak or balk, of the same meaning. Letters a g ahern, oahern, hearne these irish last names have their origins in co. Wondering about the meaning behind your irish name. The most common irish surnames in ireland havent changed much for a century. It should be noted that the scottish gaels were actually descendants of gaelic emigrants to scotland. Irish names have a number of derivations, including those of native gaelic, norman and anglo origin. Review never before have so many irish family names, locations and sources appeared in one place. It was the name used by a 12thcentury king of leinster, domhnall caomhanach, the eldest son of the historic irish king diarmait mac murchada. The master book of irish surnames by michael olaughlin, february 1988, irish genealogical foundation edition, hardcover in english. When you hear the surname kennedy, oneill or gallagher, you instantly know they are either irish or of irish descent.

Irish surnames explained,irish genealogy,irish coats of arms,how to start the search for your irish roots. He served as chief herald and genealogical officer of the irish. Whenever someone signs up for our newsletter, we ask them to provide us with the irish surnames in their family tree as well as the counties they come from. Although touted as an all new master index that contains more irish family surnames, locations, and sources than any work in print, this book is far from. So far, we have collated over 6000 irish surnames in this way from subscribers in 22 different countries. The master book of irish surnames february 1988 edition. The master book of irish surnames, location, ethnicity. Annals of the kingdom of ireland by the four masters from the. Ive recorded 20,000 documented individual surnames in ireland, during 4 decades of research here at the irish roots cafe and hedge school. Edward maclysaght was a leading authority on irish names and family history. Find out how surnames are ranked in popularity, how many people in the united states of america bear a particular name, and how the statistics change between 1990 and 2000 us censuses. The site is aimed primarily at secondary school students, but can be used by anyone with irish ancestors to learn how to use the multiplicity of. All these families self identify as being scots irish. The master book of irish surnames michael c olaughlin home.

The roots of the book surname reach back to the language of the viking settlers who populated the rugged shores of scotland in the medieval era. Genealogy sites family genealogy free genealogy family names irish culture irish roots irish celtic irish blessing little books. I have not used this book in the creation of this list, however consulting this book will give you some idea of where the surname or its variations may possibly be. Surnames irish resources for family historians libguides at. As you can see the families are a combination of lowland and highland scottish surnames with a few native irish surnames. It only partly overlaps with chiefs of the name because it excludes scotland and other discussion. This book included many surnames and their origins, as well as brief. It includes over 18,000 names as found in the 17th and 19th century. Geographical or local surnames these are names derived from the location of the homestead from which the first bearer and his family lived, and are generally the most common origin of scottish surnames.

From the irish times book of the year to hans christian andersens fairy tales, youll find books for all tastes and ages. Edward maclysaght was one of the foremost genealogists of twentieth century ireland. Trace your irish roots and heritage and find out where your irish surname originated or is most dominant in ireland on the map. There are many different origins for irish names today but the vast majority can be broken down into either of three categories. Olaughlin 1993, hardcover at the best online prices at ebay. This article concerns the gaelic nobility of ireland from ancient to modern times. It traces the roots of each name which will be very useful in geneaological research. The scots irish dna project now has 761 participating families.

The master name collection the is the master collection of irish family names and variant spelling groups. Published by olochlains irish family journal, po box 7575, kansas city mo 64116. It wasnt until british colonization that last names were changed to sound more anglican and to disrupt the gaelic way of life. Ireland was one of the earliest countries to evolve a system of hereditary surnames.

Olaughlins most popular book is the book of irish families great and small. Families added mc or mac, which means son of to a first name to create a. Irishcentral has put together a list of the top 100 common irish surnames. Gaelic irish, cambronorman, and finally anglo irish. Irish names are used on the island of ireland as well as elsewhere in the western world as a result of the irish diaspora. Mac amhalghaidh means son of auley, once important gaelic lords. As a set with the master book of irish surnames they become one of the most useful sets availablethis book should be placed on every reference shelf. Most of these families participated in the 18th century. Very good plus, bottom edge of page block light staining and soiling. Clare, where the family held a seat as a dalcassian sept from. Most of the earliest people in scotland to adopt fixed surnames were the nobles and great landowners, who were often called by the land they possessed e. Discover the ethnic origin and meaning of last names. Those surnames with an asterisk are listed in the surnames of ireland edward maclysaght, sixth edition 1997, published by the irish academic press, isbn 0716523647.

The location index lists irish surnames in alphabetical order disregarding the mac or o prefix followed by code letters for the 10 sources in which the name was. Irish coat of arms, family crest 100 free irish surnames. Genis users have created 200 million profiles with 12 million surnames. The master book of irish surnames by michael olaughlin. Not all irish surnames are of gaelic origin, however. Derived from the irish gaelic name caomhanach, which means a student of saint caomhan. As such, one might expect differences between this data and the distribution of surnames in ireland in the first half of the 19th century. The vast majority of gaelic irish surnames were created during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. More than 4,000 gaelic, norman and anglo irish surnames are listed in this book, giving a wealth of information on the background and location of irish families. The book surname comes from someone having lived in a place noted for the presence of a ridge that formed a boundary between two distinct areas.

Gaelic surnames comprise surnames of irish, scottishgaelic, and manx origin. Pages in category surnames of irish origin the following 200 pages are in this category, out of approximately 480 total. Irish last names for centuries, even through the norman invasion, irish last names defined clans and septs smaller groups within clans. Many scottish last names were taken from gaelic personal names. Mac surnames are generally of a much later date than o.

Many irish surnames have a o in front in their irish version, this list is mainly confined to those names where the o is commonly used in the english version of the name. Michael c olaughlin the book consists of three indexes. Irish gaelic surnames learning irish bitesize irish blog. The table shown here gives a listing of the 100 most commonly names found in ireland and their meanings. The irish people have influenced the world and their surnames have become well recognized and associated with the emerald isle. The master book of irish surnames by michael olaughlin published february 1988 by irish genealogical foundation. A little book of irish family names irish family history. Atlas of family names in ireland home moved permanently.

Like the english, the people of scotland didnt really use last names until they were introduced by the normans in 1066. Master index to all 34 books in the irish families project. This was the surname given by sir arthur conan doyle to a master criminal in the sherlock holmes series. Orders can be faxed to 8164542410 or via email to 734.