Explaining the Meaning & Origin of Irish Names



Irish namesGot a little or alot of Irish heritage? Well, the following online site will fit you to a ‘t’ and give new meaning to that Irish family name.

Irish Central by Glen Carey has 300 Irish surnames in alphabetical order with their means for each. This first section are letters A-G. Click here for A-G Irish surnames and scroll down.

This section covers H-M Irish surnames, again scroll down the list.

Here are the Irish name meanings for N-W names.

Irish-symbolNow look at a few examples of Irish names you may not have thought were Irish.

JOYCE: Though not Gaelic and sometimes found in England of non-Irish origin, Joyce may certainly be regarded as a true Irish name, and more particularly a Connacht one. The first Joyce to come to Ireland of whom there is authentic record was Thomas de Jorse or Joyce, stated by Macfirbis to be a Welshman, who in 1283 married the daughter of O’Briend, Prince of Thomond and went with her by sea to Co Galway.

BUTLER: Anglo Norman name later Earl of Ormond. Lord FitzWalter later Butler accompanied British forces to Ireland in 1169 to secure Anglo Norman lands. Family received Irish titles for their service. Later connected to Ormond line in the Kilkenny, Tipperary area.

WOULFE: The Woulfes, or Wolfes, are a family of Norman origin who first came to Ireland at the time of the invasion at the end of the twelfth century. In Irish the name is usually written de Bhulbh, but le would be more fitting than de since the Norman form is Le Woulf (the wolf).

DALTON: Though this name is not Irish in origin, it is on record in Dublin and Meath as early as the beginning of the thirteenth century, the family having been established in Ireland following the Anglo-Norman invasion. Its Norman origin is more apparent in the alternative spelling, still sometimes used – D’Alton, or, of Alton, a place in England.Irish-leaf

BODKIN:This non-Irish sounding name is intimately connected with Galway, with the Bodkins being one of the fourteen “tribes” of the city. The name was originally spelled Boudakyn, then Bodekin, before eventually finalizing at Bodkin

Related FamilyTree.com genealogical blogs:

Irish Toolbox

Relatives of Northern Ireland

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