Family Crest Series

Have we any McCarthys here?
Coming from the Irish MacCarthaigh, ‘mac’ meaning son and ‘carthach’ meaning loving, the name translates loosely to loving person.
The name links back to a very powerful and well respected Munster family – the surname is said to descend from Oilioll Olum, a 3rd century King of Munster, who gave his kingdom to his son Eoghan when he died. Eoghan’s descendants were known as the Eoghanacht, resulting in the earliest name holder being Carthach, lord of Eoghanacht. Due to the power the McCarthys held in Munster, the majority of their descendants can still be found in County Tipperary, Cork, and Kerry.

Up next in our Family Crest Series, we have another name from the North!
Of ancient Norman origin, Johnson comes from the given name John, and the name literally means ‘son of John’. The name John is derived from the Hebrew name Johanan, which means ‘Jehovah has favored’.
The name became extremely popular in the Middle Ages, as a result of connections with the name John and Christianity. Originating in Scotland, the Johnson family spread from Scotland to England, Wales and Ireland in early times.

Calling all McDonalds!
The name McDonald, commonly confused with McDonnell, shares the same origin as its rival, coming from the personal name Domhnall, meaning ‘world mighty’. However, McDonalds are descendants of the Scottish clan of the name. This Scottish clan first arrived in Ireland in the 13th century, and so legendary were they that they were employed in almost every local battle!
The clan spread all over the island, but their main connection remained with Ulster.

Do you have the most common surname in Ireland?
The name Murphy is an anglicised version of two names, Mac Murchadha and O’Murchadha, which are both derived from the Gaelic word murchadh, meaning ‘sea warrior’.
As Ireland was under the control of Vikings for several centuries, the name ‘sea warrior’ is probably more than a coincidence!
The name comes from a number of Gaelic clans located in Wexford, Cork, Carlow, and Armagh, it has since spread all over the island.

The O’Brien name has many variants, but most of the O’Briens can be traced back to a single clan– the Dalcassian Clan.
This family achieved prominence as one of the most powerful clans of in Ireland, with the crowning of their ancestor Brian Boru as high king of Ireland. The clan took their name after the legendary king and the clan's descendants – called the O’Briens – continued to rule Munster until the12th century. While O’Briens can be found all over the island, the name is most common in Cork and Tipperary. Did your ancestors hail from the legendary BrianBoru?

We are going back up North with the Lowry family!
Lowry is a tricky surname to trace, as it can be argued to have English, Scottish or Irish origins. With the name being most common on in the Ulster counties, there are two likely origins of the name: The first is the anglicisation of the Irish surname Ó Labhradha (where Labhraidhmeans spokesman, originally given to the chief of the clan); the second theory is the name came over from the Mac Labhraigh (anglicised to Lowry) clan of Scotland.

Were your ancestors O'Connors? In the top ten most common surnames in Ireland, this surname derives from at least six clans taking their name from the Irish name Conchobar, meaning 'lover of hounds'. Of all of these families, the O'Connors of Connaught were the most famous – this clan took their name from Conchobar, High King of Connacht, whose direct descendants went on to become the last two High Kings of Ireland. The name O'Connor (and its variations Connor and Connors) is particularly common in Cork, Kerry, Wexford and Waterford.

Do you call yourself an O’Reilly? The name O’Reilly (and variables) derives from O’Raghailligh, meaning ‘descent of Raghallach’, who is said to have been a descendant of the O’Connor kings of Connacht. The surname O’Reilly was first found in County Cavan, which was known as Breifne at that time (meaning ‘hilly country’). For centuries, the O’Reillys were the most powerful clan in Briefne. When Breifne was split into two, the O’Reillys became known as the Princes of East Breifne, with their rivals the O’Rourkes taking control of West Breifne. The O’Reilly clan was known for being extremely tough, as well as successful in trade – at one point, “reilly” was a colloquial term for money in Ireland! While the name is now all over the island, the name is most popular in Cavan, Cork, Longford and Meath.

The surname Smith is famous for being, well, a little ordinary. But that's only because it's the fifth most common surname in Ireland and the most common surname in England, Scotland and Wales. There are number of origins to the Smiths in Ireland – there were the Smiths who originated from England, particularly around Dublin. But there are also many Smiths who originated in Ireland. In Irish the surname is Mac an Ghabhain, which translates to ‘son of the smith’. This was translated to Smith was commonplace in County Cavan, where the clan originated. Many other Mac an Ghabhains outside of Cavan used the English form 'MacGowan' in preference to Smith.

The name in Irish is Breathnach, which translates simply to ‘Welshman’. The name Walsh came to Ireland during the Norman-Saxon invasions with the arrival of Strongbow. The name is said to have originated from Philip the Welshman and his brother David, who arrived with Strongbow in 1170. The Walshes in the southeast of Ireland today are said to be descendants of Philip and David, while Walshes in the west are said to be descended from Walynus, a Welshman who came to Ireland with Maurice Fitzgerald in 1169.