In this article, we look at Irish Surnames – their origins and evolution. See if you can find the Irish surnames in your family tree in one of the sections below.

Irish Surnames and Their Counties

Do you have Irish surnames in your family tree? If the answer is yes, then read on – and discover more about the surnames of Ireland, where they come from – and see if you can spot some of your Irish surnames.

An Irish Placename Travels Abroad to the City of Baltimore.

If you were to pull out a map of your area this moment and have a look, how many places would you spot named after Irish villages, towns and counties? As you may have noticed, anywhere that the Irish – and other nationalities settled in numbers – they also brought along the names of their…

From Guinness to McGuinness

For decades, the “Mag Aonghusa” clan were the lords of the Ui Eachach Cobha tribe located in what is now part of County Down. Over time, their surname became anglicised as McGennis/McGuinness and their homeland in County Down became known as the Barony of Iveagh. Do you have this surname in your family tree? Maybe…

A Roadtrip Around 16 Counties of Ireland – Part 4

When we look at Irish surnames today, it’s easy to get confused when we see names that appear to have several different spellings, some look very English or Scottish – how could they be Irish you ask – while other names appear to randomly have an “O” or “Mac” in front of them. Before We…