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The 10 most popular Irish last names

Click links after each family to see complete clan story and photos

By
ANTOINETTE KELLY,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Sunday, August 9, 2009, 8:33 AM
Updated Wednesday, July 14, 2010, 4:33 PM

 

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Coats of arms representing Irish clans
Coats of arms representing Irish clans

Irish and Irish-Americans alike tend to be immensely proud of their surnames.

Many a Irish family proudly declare their Irish roots by displaying the crest of their clan in their homes.

But which last names win in the battle of Irishness?

IrishCentral took a look at the list of the most common surnames in Ireland in order to come up with a top 10 list.

Smith and Murray are two of the most common, but one is of British origins and the other’s Scottish, so they didn’t make the cut.

Here, then, are the 10 most Irish last names:


1. Murphy  - the sea battlers

Murphys – you win the prize for most common and widespread name in Ireland, especially in County Cork.  

This surname, which means “sea battler,” translates to Gaelic as MacMurchadh (son of Murchadh) and O'Murchadh (descendent of Murchadh), a derivation of the first name of Murchadh or Murragh.

O'Murchadh families lived in Wexford, Roscommon and Cork, in which county it is now most common, with the MacMurchadhs of the Sligo and Tyrone area responsible for most of the Murphys in Ulster.

The name was first anglicized to MacMurphy and then to Murphy in the early 19th century.

READ THE WHOLE STORY OF THE MURPHY CLAN! CLICK HERE

2. Kelly – the bright-headed ones

Kelly comes second to Murphy as the most common surname in Ireland.

The Kellys are all over Ireland; the name originates from at around 10 different and unrelated ancient clans or septs. These include O'Kelly septs from Meath, Derry, Antrim, Laois, Sligo, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Galway and Roscommon.

O'Kelly comes from the Gaelic O Ceallaigh, meaning "descended from Ceallach," an Irish chieftan. “Ceallach” means war or contention. It is an ancient first name that is no longer used as a first name in Ireland. However, Kelly is a popular first name for women in the U.S.

READ THE WHOLE STORY OF THE KELLY CLAN! CLICK HERE

3. O'Sullivan – the hawkeyed ones

Kellys may have bright heads, but O’Sullivans have hawk-like eyes.

The O'Sullivans or Sullivans are one of the most populous of the Munster families. In Irish, O'Sullivan is O'Sileabhin, and there is no doubt that origin of the name comes from the word sil (eye), though whether it is to be taken as "one-eyed" or "hawkeyed" is in dispute among scholars.

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Posted by Kendall on Jun 21, 2010, 08:22 PM EDT
Ms. Kelly, Here is the real list of the most common names, in Ireland. By the way popular is a poor word choice for the tile of the article. Common would be the correct choice. 1. Murphy 2. Kelly 3. O’Sullivan 4. Walsh 5. Smith 6. O’Brien 7. Byrne 8. Ryan 9. O’Connor 10. O’Neill
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Posted by Kendall on Jun 21, 2010, 08:14 PM EDT
Ms. Kelly, Here is the real list of the most common names, in Ireland. By the way popular is a poor word choice, for the title of your article. Common would be the correct choice. 1 Murphy ó Murchadha sea-battler 2 Kelly ó Ceallaigh bright-headed 3 O'Sullivan ó Súilleabháin dark-eyed 4 Walsh Breathnach Welshman 5 Smith Mac Gabhann son of the smith 6 O'Brien ó Briain high, noble 7 Byrne ó Broin a raven 8 Ryan ó Maoilriain king 9 O'Connor ó Conchobhair patron of warriors 10 O'Neill ó Néill from Niall of the Nine Hostages
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Posted by Kendall on Jun 21, 2010, 09:01 AM EDT
Just because Smith is of Scot/English orgins does not mean it should be excluded from the list. Smith's have been, in Ireland at least from the 1600's, if not longer. Bushmills has only been around just as long, even St. Patrick came orignialy from what is now England. We would neve consider either of these icons as not being Irish.
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Posted by WoundedKnee on Jun 08, 2010, 06:29 PM EDT
You're right, PHPEARSE, uncontrolled immigration is going to end the Irish as a distinct people.
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Posted by PHPEARSE on Jun 07, 2010, 02:34 PM EDT
Gven the huge numbers of immigrants in Ireland, it won't be long tll you see names like Wyzcyzinski, Mbongo, Patel, Chen etc. in the Top Ten. They say the native irish will be in a minority in Ireland by 2050.
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Posted by madeirabeach on Apr 11, 2010, 09:41 PM EDT
how about the o'donnells'
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Posted by zenahifalls on Mar 23, 2010, 10:32 AM EDT
you missed flanagan
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Posted by Rosebeautiful on Mar 23, 2010, 01:31 AM EDT
I love learning about the Irish heritage
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Posted by Daughertylass on Mar 21, 2010, 09:56 PM EDT
What happened to the O'Dochartaigh's? There are many different spellings of this clan's names. My grandfather's last name was Daugherty.
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Posted by rcrdskpr@aol.com on Mar 21, 2010, 05:14 PM EDT
i'm disappointed my chess playing mcfeelys' arent there.
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Posted by allanogrady on Mar 19, 2010, 09:12 AM EDT
Got to love the O'Gradys!
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Posted by pmcna1315 on Mar 10, 2010, 12:50 PM EST
thinking O'Keefe might have been a good name, but was not listed where would it fall on the list
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Posted by hwodunnavent on Mar 09, 2010, 09:50 AM EST
As a wannabe Irish, who fell in love with the Emerald Isle at first sight, are you sure Dunn or Naven (the t is silent)don't fit in there somewhere?
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Posted by CanadianPat on Mar 08, 2010, 10:32 PM EST
Let's not forget the Gobshites,Ribshites, and all the other Shites out there!
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Posted by Scottmcgowan on Mar 08, 2010, 04:42 PM EST
Smith is the anglicized version of McGowan. It should not have made the cut! I am also a Kelly and we are a prolific lot. Scott McGowan
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Posted by PatrickLee on Mar 07, 2010, 08:24 PM EST
DOn't forget O'Furniture Patty would approve.
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Posted by SirGShaw on Mar 07, 2010, 07:03 PM EST
Me wifes middle name is Creagh, and is Irish forming my alliance with her on her favorite Day March 17. Me things this a curious situation, we me family migrating from Scotland to Canada and later the States.
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Posted by noniboni on Mar 07, 2010, 05:48 PM EST
Well, what about Brannan,d.v. O'Brain. Brennen etc. A Good old Irish Name
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Posted by ardgehane on Mar 07, 2010, 01:12 PM EST
I'm sure McCarthy was number eleven.
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Posted by Malarkey on Mar 07, 2010, 08:55 AM EST
What about Malone, Mahoney, Mahan and all those? Especially Malone!!
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Posted by Pat Riley on Mar 05, 2010, 03:41 PM EST
The post by CanadianPat is the biggest laugh I've had all day.
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Posted by CanadianPat on Mar 04, 2010, 08:09 AM EST
Must not omit the famest MeeArse's from Ringsend, Patty and his brother Poke!
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Posted by Liamkeyes on Feb 24, 2010, 02:38 PM EST
There is at least a half dozen "Madigan Pubs' in Dublin City alone.
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Posted by Liamkeyes on Feb 24, 2010, 02:37 PM EST
Durnan, Doran, Durkin, Durkan. You will find most of them in ther West of Ireland, mainly in County Mayo.
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Posted by Liamkeyes on Feb 24, 2010, 02:34 PM EST
All I know is that LIAM has had a huge upsurge in recent Years.
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Posted by timhrich on Feb 13, 2010, 11:23 PM EST
I would have thought that Mahoney would have been right up there also?
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Posted by gingerpele on Feb 13, 2010, 07:53 AM EST
My mother's maiden name was Durnan but I haven't been able to find that name on any listing for Irish names. Does anyone know what county the name came from?
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Posted by Nelliegrace on Feb 12, 2010, 02:24 PM EST
I can understand how these 10 names could be the most popular. Just a little disappointed not to see Madigan.
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Posted by vapsmith on Dec 20, 2009, 06:39 PM EST
I would like to comment on the posting by Binasdad on November 9, 2009. My husband is a Smith and a Niall descendant (DNA testing). Would like to know about his family if he is interested.
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Posted by beachline on Nov 11, 2009, 04:40 PM EST
I see all of the previous comments have been deleted. So I ask you--how did you arrive at this list of "ten most popular names" ??? Did you actually count the number of people with these names, or simply go through a phone book and do an estimate??


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