Irish Surname Resources
In this section I have included all the letters (and podcasts) I have written that relate to Irish surnames. Ireland has one of the oldest surname systems in the world - originating from about the mid-800s - and knowing a little more about the origin and evolution of the Irish surnames in your family tree will often give you a greater insight into your own family history and Irish culture in general.
Browse the features listed on this page and jump to one that interests you, or enter a placename, surname or other item in the search box below to see related letters and podcasts.
Irish Surname Letters
Did you know that Wicklow comes from the Norse “Vykyngelo” – meaning a “Viking meadow”? Let’s stay on that subject of Vikings for the rest of today’s letter. One of the most frequent enquiries I receive goes something like: “I just got my DNA tested and it turned up as 12% Scandinavian. I wonder if…
I decided to lay out as many Irish names as I could come up with in this article. I included the answers to many of the questions I received – maybe you can find some of your familiar names below? I have divided them into boys and girls names. Have a look through and see…
Céad Míle Fáilte – and welcome to your Letter from Ireland this week. Well, the early summer is truly underway here in this part of Ireland. The cherry and apple blossoms are coming to an end, to be replaced by that beautiful light shade of green you see in the trees. A great time of…
I received the following last week from one of our readers, Nancy Ireland: The surname is Ireland. It is so hard to research the name Ireland ! My husband has always wanted to know who was the first in his family to come to the United States from Ireland. I have located his…
A few weeks back, I mentioned Thomas Cahill’s book “How the Irish Saved Civilisation” – and I know a lot of our readers have already come across it. It tells the story of how Irish monks set about preserving Greek, Roman and early Christian knowledge through their manuscripts and teaching. It’s a wonderful little book…
Irish Surname Podcast Episodes
We look at the stories of two different Irish pioneers in early north America – in what is now the country of Canada. The first is the story of Denis O’Donovan – who had the opportunity to choose his final resting place – and the second is Tadhg O’Brennan who may have been the first…
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In this episode of the Letter from Ireland Podcast show, we travel to the city of Glasgow in Scotland to meet two proud Glasgow natives of Irish ancestry. Come with us as we get a unique perspective on this city that saw the arrival of so many Irish immigrants from the 1800s onwards.
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Do you have any Anglo Norman surnames in your Irish Family Tree? Then join us now as we talk about some of these Irish surnames and follow the Norman trail all the way back to Ireland.
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Welcome to Series 1, Episode 6 of the Letter from Ireland Show. In this episode, we look at Irish placenames and townlands.
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Welcome to Season 1, Episode 4 of the Letter from Ireland Show. In this episode, Carina and Mike Collins follow the journey of a man who “always went into an Irish Pub” with his name over the door. We then go to the back of one of these pubs – and find a remarkable story.
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