What are the 5 most common last names in Ireland?

The Most Popular Irish Family Names
  • Murphy.
  • Byrne.
  • Kelly.
  • O'Brien.
  • Ryan.
  • O'Sullivan.
  • O'Connor.
  • Walsh.


What is a very Irish last name?

Common Irish Last Names
  • Murphy – ó Murchadha. ...
  • Kelly – ó Ceallaigh. ...
  • Byrne – ó Broin. ...
  • Ryan – ó Maoilriain. ...
  • O'Sullivan – ó Súilleabháin. ...
  • Doyle – ó Dubhghaill. ...
  • Walsh – Breathnach. ...
  • O'Connor – ó Conchobhair.


What is the most famous Irish last name?

According to the Central Statistics Office, Murphy is consistently the most prominent surname across Ireland. Murphy is one of the most common Irish family names and examples of famous Murphys include actors Cillian Murphy, Eddie Murphy, and Brittany Murphy.
...
  • Murphy.
  • Kelly.
  • O'Sullivan.
  • Walsh.
  • Smith.
  • O'Brien.
  • Byrne.
  • Ryan.


What are the oldest Irish surnames?

The earliest known Irish surname is O'Clery (O Cleirigh); it's the earliest known because it was written that the lord of Aidhne, Tigherneach Ua Cleirigh, died in County Galway back in the year 916 A.D. In fact, that Irish name may actually be the earliest surname recorded in all of Europe.

What are the top 20 Irish surnames?

One of the earliest Irish surnames, O'Brien, dates back to the 12th century when the grandson of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, honoured him by taking his name.
...
Top 20 Irish surnames
  1. Murphy. ...
  2. Kelly. ...
  3. O'Sullivan. ...
  4. Walsh. ...
  5. Smith. ...
  6. O'Brien. ...
  7. Byrne. ...
  8. Ryan.


Most Common Last Names by Country (2021)



What is the prettiest Irish name?

The Most Beautiful Irish Names and What They Mean
  • Saoirse. Saoirse (pronounced seer-sha) is a feminine name that rose to popularity during the 1920s. ...
  • Caoimhe. ...
  • Aoife. ...
  • Fionnoula. ...
  • Dáithí ...
  • Cara. ...
  • Ardál. ...
  • Aisling.


What is the most Irish name ever?

1. O'Sullivan (ó Súilleabháin) O'Sullivan has to be the most Irish name ever. Also known as simply Sullivan, is an Irish Gaelic clan-based most prominently in what is today County Cork and County Kerry.

What is the most rare Irish last name?

1. Moloughney. This unusual Irish surname is as rare as it is hard to pronounce.


What are the rarest Irish names?

Unusual Irish baby names for boys
  • Aengus: Irish version of Angus.
  • Ailill: From the Irish Ailleacht, or “beauty”
  • Bly: Anglicized version of an Irish name.
  • Brogan: An Irish name meaning “sturdy shoe”
  • Caelan: Anglicized form of Caolán.
  • Conlan: This Irish name means “hero”
  • Declan: Anglicized version of Deaglán.


What is the biggest Irish clan?

Murphy: There are over 50,000 Murphys in Ireland alone and many more around the globe. It is by far the most widespread Irish surname and although it is usually associated with Munster in the south of Ireland, historically the Murphys hailed from Leinster, especially county Wexford.

What is the best Irish name?

Along with Fiadh and Conor, Irish Gaelic names that rank among Ireland's top baby names include Aoife, Éabha, and Saoirse for girls, and Liam, Fionn, and Oisin for boys. Other top Irish names not often heard outside the Emerald Isle include Clodagh, Sadhbh, and Croía for girls, and Cillian, Tadhg, and Darragh for boys.


What is the most popular Irish name in America?

Murphy – the sea warrior

The most common of all Irish surnames you'll hear in America is Murphy. This highly popular surname means “sea warrior”, a personal name that was once particularly popular in County Tyrone.

What are Viking last names?

Vikings did not have surnames as we know them today. They used the patronymic system or more rarely, a metronymic was used. Snorri Sturluson means Snorri, son of Sturla, for example.

What are Royal Irish names?

Leinster:
  • MacMurrough (Overlord)
  • O'Byrne.
  • O'Toole.
  • O'Brennan.
  • O'More.
  • O'Dempsey.
  • Fitzgerald of Kildare (Overlord)
  • Fitzpatrick.


What are Viking surnames in Ireland?

Other Norse names found occasionally in Ireland still include Cotter, Dowdall, Dromgoole, Gould, Harold, Howard, Loughlin, Sweetman and Trant.

Is there Irish royalty?

Monarchical systems of government have existed in Ireland from ancient times. In the south this continued until the early twentieth century, when it transitioned to the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, remains under a monarchical system of government.

What is the hardest Irish name to pronounce?

  • Tadhg.
  • Oisín. ...
  • Caoimhe. ...
  • Dearbhla. ...
  • Meadhbh. ...
  • Gráinne. Either “granny” or “grainy” the pronunciation of this name is just never quite right. ...
  • Siobhán. This girls name is a popular one that has confused many foreigners time and again. ...
  • Aoife. Aoife is an extremely common Irish girls name that means “radiance” or “beauty”. ...


What is the most Irish girl name?

These are the most popular baby girl names in Ireland.
  • Grace.
  • Fiadh.
  • Emily.
  • Sophie.
  • Ava.
  • Amelia.
  • Ella.
  • Hannah.


What is a strong Irish male name?

Popular and Common Irish Boy Names
  • Aidan. Kicking off our popular Irish boy names is this angelized form of Aodhán; both names are pronounced AY-dən. ...
  • Cillian. This name has been in Ireland's Top 100 boy names for many years and has recently hit the top 10. ...
  • Conor. ...
  • Declan. ...
  • Finn. ...
  • James. ...
  • Liam. ...
  • Rian.


What is the #1 last name in the world?

Wang is a patronymic (ancestral) name that means “king” in Mandarin, and it's shared by more than 92 million people in China, making it the most popular last name in the world.


What is the oldest known last name?

The oldest surname known to have been recorded anywhere in Europe, though, was in County Galway, Ireland, in the year 916. It was the name “O Cleirigh” (O'Clery). In England, the Normans introduced surnames after 1066.

What does the O in Irish names mean?

In contrast to Mc- and Mac-, found in both Ireland and Scotland, the prefix O' is unique to Ireland. It is derived from the Gaelic word “ua,” also abbreviated as uí or Ó, meaning “grandson of.” Thus any name beginning with O' is without question an Irish patronymic.

What state has the most Irish?

The most Irish state in the U.S. is New Hampshire, where 20.2% of the state's residents are Irish. The least Irish state in the U.S. is Hawaii, where only 4.3% of the state's residents are Irish. The most Irish city in the U.S. is Ocean City, NJ, which is 30.22% Irish.


What is a good Irish nickname?

Top 10 Irish Nicknames
  • MICKS. Since many Irish last names begin with Mc or Mac, if follows that this nickname became one (derogatory) way to refer to the Irish.
  • PADDY'S. In reference to St. ...
  • BRIDGETS. ...
  • CAT-LICK. ...
  • BOG-JUMPER/TURF CUTTER. ...
  • FUMBLIN' DUBLIN. ...
  • MCNUGGET. ...
  • MUCKER.


What is the term Black Irish mean?

black Irish (plural black Irish) An Irish person or person of Irish descent with dark hair, eyes, and skin, sometimes (derogatory, ethnic slur, dated) with disparaging racial overtones.