Irish surnames explained - the meaning behind the top ten clan names

Irish Central ^ | November 19, 2013 | ANTOINETTE KELLY

[Domestic Church]

The Irish Smiths were supposedly McGowans that were forced to change their names.

[submarinerswife]

Save for later

[jetson]

O’BOzo

[ABN 505]

Fogerty Castle, not mine but my ancesters.http://www.flickr.com/photos/timfoggo/2898438171/sizes/l/in/set-72157607571862866/

[MinuteGal]

My paternal grandmother was a Smith of the County Cork Smiths. Folks think it's an exclusively English name, but Smith is one of the two most common names in Ireland, Murphy being the other.

O'Leni

[BroJoeK]

dfwgator: "What about O’Bama?"

House Atreides: "This name stems from an old Gaelic word meaning “he who is not what he seems”."

Joe 6-pack: "The history of that one has mysteriously been deleted. "

The Sons of Liberty: "Usurping kenyan bastard."

Rockpile: "O’bama? That’s Irish for Davis."

BeauBo: "Obama is a bit unique - it indicates a boy born in Islam.
It is the name used to indicate those Luo who converted to Islam."

****************************

Actually, O'Bama is a real Irish name which translates to: "if you like your health care, you can keep your health care, period.".

However, the word "O'bama" was imported by Crusaders from the original Arabic, where it means: "if Iran likes its nukes, they can keep their nukes, period."

Since the old Irish knew nothing about "nukes" they just naturally assumed the word referred to the their health care...

;-)

[GeronL]

O’Looney

how do you explain that one?

[PghBaldy]

One of the more interesting names (not on the list) is Costello, IMO. I would have thought it was Italian, but it is Irish.

[NYer]

One of the more interesting names (not on the list) is Costello, IMO. I would have thought it was Italian, but it is Irish.

Wow! That truly is an astounding fact. Do you know the origin of the name?

Speaking of Italian names, I have been told that the name "Esposito" was used in Italy to identify babies abandoned by their birth mothers.

[Condor51]

8. O'Connor – patrons of warriors
They might not be warriors themselves, but at least O’Connors descend from them!...O'Connors who gave us the last two High-Kings of Ireland: Turlough O'Connor (1088-1156) and Roderick O'Connor (1116-1198).

Yep, them's my relatives, ROYALTY! So bow down all ye peasants, or be prepared for a fight! Oh..wait..we aren't supposed to be warriors any more (yeah...but don't bet on it. /s). So unlike Obama the pretender King, I have DNA of real Kings runnin' in my blood. Take 'that' Barry!

And like the article says, I DO have the O'Connor Crest hanging on the wall, and I'm even a member of the Official O'Connor Clan, have a membership number and everything :-)

Any Irishmen can google 'Irish Clan' for the website and find the clan for their family and download a copy of the family crest for printing and framing. It's pretty fricken neat, as a kid I remember my grandparents having it up on the wall but over the years it got misplaced.

I was over-fricken-joyed when I found the website this summer and was able to read the history of the family going back to the middle-ages, and then finding 'King'.

[PghBaldy]

I do not know the origin of Costello, only that it is Irish.

[gleeaikin]

Many of the “black Irish” were born after the Spanish Armada was destroyed in the English Channel during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. England was Protestant, Ireland was Catholic, and whenever possible, the shipwrecked Spanish sailors headed for Ireland since Catholics were not treated well in England.

[rktman]

Roger that. Probably treated worse than the isl-amish get treated today in England.