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Researching Irish Names
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On surname lists, it really pays to take the time to go down the whole thing carefully!
Often names have been spelled many ways, and one needs to play with them phonetically in order not to miss one's goal
due to "odd" spellings!
Also, don't forget to look through the Mc's, Mac's, O's... and also, if you have a prefix, check for those who've dropped it!
Many Irish surnames have gone through a number of transformations
and it is necessary to check carefully in several areas. We have tried,
with the kind assistance of Pat Traynor and Diana Hanson, to provide some helps into finding YOUR name in all it's forms! :)
One course of action might be to begin by checking out the surnames (AND their major counties!) on the list of
Irish Surnames from the 11th to 16th Centuries.
Then move on forward through Surnames Common in Ireland at end of 16th Century,
Surnames Prevalent in Ireland during the 17th Century
and even Knights Bachelors in Ireland 13th to 15th Centuries
and Peerages in Ireland During the 17th Century
Also be sure tp check out French Hugenots who Immigrated
Armed with that knowledge and what you've found elsewhere, it might also pay to check out the
Ancient Surnames
and the Milesian genealogies to see what other names may have the same origins,
for at times people have flipped back and forth in the usage of names.
Then visit our Surname List
to see if others have
been researching your folks.And of course, that's a good time to add your own surnames for us to post! :)
Take a peek at the Links to Irish Surname pages
and see if theremight be someone in your family already posting good stuff on the web! (And if you have such a page and it's not listed, ADD it!
Check each county
your family might have been in for query sites!
Some other links that are very helpful to Irish Surname research are below:
Some introductions to heraldry are in the Wild Irish Roves area
You can search the Roots Surname List archives for your surnames.
Go here to learn how to submit YOUR names to the RSL (without having to subscribe to the list)
You might visit Ancestry.com and search their free data bases -
and check your surnames out at Family Tree Maker's site, where many have placed their trees online.
[Warning: use the material as CLUES unless you are able to reach the original poster and obtain validation of sources.]
DORAS Directory, Click on Family Names
Use Surname Helper to Search Surnames on our Site
Ireland GenWeb BB for all Ireland
Cromwellian Adventurers for Land in Ireland
Genealogy Resources on the Internet
The SurnameWeb
soc.genealogy.surnames. - SURNAMES- FAQs
50 most common Irish names
Local Names
Online Irish Names Research Directory
Ireland Bulletin Board
Yourfamily.com's Query Page
Surnames Lists- GENUKI
Guild of One-Name Studies
Obituaries !
All Irish Clans and Names
A Bit about Gaelic Surnames
Irish in America Genealogy Names
Irish FIRST names
First Name Basis All about using first, middle and maiden names in searching :)
Favorite first names.. back to 1880 by decade
The Fianna Irish Descendants' Homepages
Irish Surnames
Irish Tartans
Irish Surnames - Links Click on Genealogy
GenForum
WW Queries - great!
Leitrim-Roscommon Genealogy Surnames
County Limerick, Ireland - Surnames and Genealogy
Try joining some surname lists for the names you're interested in! Take a look at Rootsweb Lists,
you'll be astounded at how many surnames have their own list! :)
Adoption part of the issue? Take a look at [email protected]. Join up on Rootsweb
Resources for Irish Adoptees
Finding Missing Relations & Living Relatives in Britain
Clan Gatherings in Ireland
Clans of Ireland
For the USA, there is a Surname Distribution map (generously supplied by the Quaker-L list). Just type in the surname, select the year (1850-1990)
and a map showing surname distribution will appear. Represented as one for every thousand(s) surnames in each state.
Go Ireland's Genealogy - Surname Histories
Surname Springboard
Of course, if you want to reach living folks in Ireland, there are the phonebooks.
Republic of Ireland PhoneBook OnLine
Includes residential listings (under 'Personal Finder')
For Northern Ireland To search by county on - put the FULL county name
into the area field and it will work
e.g. County Tyrone (and not Co Tyrone or Tyrone)
In addition to numbers geographically in the searched county, this search brings up
'out of county' entries for surrounding area phone codes that overlap the county boundaries.
And at Ireland Email you'll find some email addresses to search...but remember to not become a
spam meister in your enthusiasm!
Similarly, check out Lookup UK.
Many royal lineages
Includes the House of Hanover
More royals!
British Monarchs
Middle names in English-speaking places appeared very gradually. They were virtually unheard of before 1700, and the earliest example of a documented middle name was about 1646. Middle names continued to be quite rare until the 1800's. After about 1850, they came to be customary in most places.
With a custom that was becoming ever more popular, it is difficult to tell whether someone who used a middle name as an adult actually started out with it, especially if there is a birth record that leaves it out. Of course, there could be reasons why a middle name bestowed upon a child might be omitted from official records, such as a clerk who felt these "new-fangled" middle names were a silly affectation and simply refused to write them down.
Matheson�s Special Report on Surnames of Ireland shows surnames with five or more entries in the birth indexes of 1890, and the main counties in which they were found. The birth rate was 1:44 at that time so you can estimate the number of people of the name at that time. On microfiches, available from A. J. Morris for a very reasonable sum.
Genealogical Publishing has it in book form.
Irish Genealogy, a record finder, ed by Donal Begley, Heraldic Arts, Nassau St., Dublin 2, includes Matheson's Special Report.
Useful Books about Irish and "Scots-Irish" Surnames
An excellent resource for anyone interested in the origin of their Irish, Scotch-Irish, English-Irish ect. surnames is Dr. Edward MacLysaght The Surnames of Ireland. Published by Irish Academic Press, 6th Ed. is ISB 0-7165-2367, 1985.Irish Pedigrees, 2 vol
O'Hart. Lists many Irish families "back to Adam and Eve!
Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, Dublin 1892,
ISBN 0-8063-0737/4 Set Number, ISBN 0-8063-1259-9
Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement of Virginia,
Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta Co., 1745-1800.
By Lyman Chalkley. 3 vols., 623+652+712p. (1912) 1993.
An invaluable source for Scotch-Irish research, this set contains
marriages, wills, deeds, fee books, delinquents & more. Indexed.
Reprints available Higginson books.
Books about Celtic Names:
O'Corrain, Donnachadh. Irish Names. 2nd ed. Dublin: Lilliput Press, 1992Rosenkrantz & Satran. Beyond Sean and Shannon. (This one is from memory-- it may be *Beyond Shannon and Sean.*)
Sierra, Judy. Celtic baby Names:Traditional names from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man. Eugene, OR: Folkprint, 1997.
Names in general:
Ingraham, Holly. People's Names: A Cross-Cultural Reference Guide to The Proper Use of Over 40,000 Personal and Familial Names and Cultures.
Jefferson, NC, and London: McFarland & Co, 1997.
Note: This is an excellent and fascinating book. Aimed at writers who need authentic names for their novels, it has lists of names and commentary on naming patterns from many times & places.
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