| Pronunciation | /ˈkɛli/ |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | English |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Irish, English |
| Other names | |
| See also | Kelly (given name) O'Kelly |
Kelly is a surname of Irish origin. The name is a partially anglicised version of older Irish names and has numerous origins, most notably from the Ui Maine. In some cases it is derived from toponyms located in Ireland and Great Britain; in other cases it is derived from patronyms in the Irish language.
In many cases Kelly is an anglicisation of the Irish surname Ó Ceallaigh (Irish pronunciation: [oːˈcal̪ˠiː] ), which means "descendant of Ceallach", but it can also mean warrior or fighter. The personal name Ceallach has been thought to mean "bright-headed", but the current understanding is that the name means "frequenting churches", derived from the Irish ceall. [1] In other cases the surname Kelly is an Anglicisation of the Irish Ó Cadhla , which means "descendant of Cadhla". [2] The O'Kelly or Kelly of the Clan Brasil Mac Coolechan originated as a chieftain clan of the Ulaid. [3]
The surname can also be derived from several place names. For example, the surname can be derived from two places in Scotland: Kelly, near Arbroath; and Kellie, in Fife. The surname can also be derived from a place name in England: Kelly, in Devon. This place name is derived from the Cornish celli, meaning "wood" or "grove". [4]
The surname is one of the most common in Ireland. It is also very common in Galloway, and the Isle of Man. [4] Many Irish immigrated to Galloway before and during the Irish famine. When including all of its variations, the name O'Kelly, Kelly, Kelley, Kellie and the Gaelic form Ó Ceallaigh, makes it the most prevalent surname in Ireland. There are approximately half a million people worldwide who bear this name. The name O'Kelly did not spring from a single source, but arose independently in several areas in Ireland, also in Scotland and the Isle of Man and in England. In other areas, notably in Isle of Man, Cornwall and probably in Antrim, the name Kelly arose from Celli, meaning man of the woods. [5]
Byrne is an Irish surname and less commonly a given name. It is derived from the Gaelic Ó Broin or Ó Beirn, which are also linked to the surname O'Byrne.
Henderson is a surname of Scottish origin. The name is derived from patronymic form of the name Henry and Hendry, which is a Scottish form of Henry. It means "Son of Hendry" and "Son of Henry". In Scottish Gaelic it is rendered MacEanraig (masculine), and NicEanraig (feminine).
The surname Collins has a variety of likely origins in Britain and Ireland:
Andrews is a patronymic surname of English, Scottish, and Norse origin. At the time of the 1881 British Census, its relative frequency was highest in Dorset, followed by Wiltshire, Huntingdonshire, Worcestershire, Hampshire, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Devon and Somerset.
Bell is a surname common in English speaking countries with several word-origins.
Gray is a surname of English and Scottish origins.
Lyons is a surname with several origins. It is the name of an eminent Anglo-Norman family that is descended from Ingelram de Lyons, Lord of Lyons, who arrived in England with the Norman Conquest, and from his relation, Nicholas de Lyons, who emigrated from Normandy to England in 1080 and was granted lands at Warkworth, Northamptonshire by William of Normandy. The family originated in the district of the Forest of Lyons, north of the town of Lyons-la-Forêt, in Norman Vexin, where their seat was the Castle of Lyons. The original surname was 'de Lyons' : subsequently, the 'de' was removed from the name, and some branches removed the 's' from the end of the word, producing 'Lyon'.
Hart is an English, German, Dutch, Jewish (Ashkenazic), French and Irish surname. Notable people and characters with the surname Hart include:
Johnston is in most cases a toponymic surname derived from several places in Scotland. Historically, the surname has been most common throughout Scotland and Ireland.
Kennedy, with variant forms O'Kennedy and Kennedie, is a surname of Irish origin that has also been used as a given name.
Duffy is a surname of Irish origin that comes from the original Irish name Ó Dubhthaigh, meaning descendant of Dubthach. Dubthach was an Old Irish first name meaning "black".
Baker is a common surname of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) origin and Scotland where Gaelic was anglicized. From England the surname has spread to neighbouring countries such as Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and also to the English speaking areas of the Americas and Oceania where it is also common. The gaelic form of Baker in Scotland and Ireland is Mac a' Bhacstair. Some people with the surname have used DNA to trace their origins to Celtic countries and specifically to the Baxter sept of the Clan MacMillan in Scotland. It is an occupational name, which originated before the 8th century CE, from the name of the trade, baker. From the Middle English bakere and Old English bæcere, a derivation of bacan, meaning "to dry by heat". The bearer of this name may not only have been a baker of bread. The name was also used for others involved with baking in some way, including the owner of a communal oven in humbler communities. The female form of the name is Baxter, which is seen more in Scotland. The German form of the name is Bäcker.
Russell, also Rosel, Rousel, Roussel, Russel or Rossell. The origin of the name has historically been subject to disagreement, with two distinct origins proposed. Early genealogists traced the Russel/Russell family of Kingston Russel from Anglo-Norman landholders bearing the toponymic surname 'de Rosel' or 'du Rozel', deriving from Rosel, Calvados, Normandy. However, J. Horace Round observed that these flawed pedigrees erroneously linked toponymic-bearing men with unrelated men who instead bore the Anglo-Norman nickname rus[s]el, given to men with red hair. This nickname was a diminutive of the Norman-French rus, meaning 'red', and was also an archaic name for the red fox, which in turn borrowed from Old Norse rossel, "red-haired", from Old Norse ros "red hair color" and the suffix -el. Round concluded "there is no reason to suppose that the surname Russell was territorial at all," and surname dictionaries have preferred to derive the surname from the nickname. Dictionaries also state that the English name Rufus originally meant "red haired".
Fox is a surname originating in England and Ireland. Variants include Foxe and Foxx.
Connelly is an anglicised form of the Gaelic-Irish surname Ó Conghalaigh. Notable people with the surname Connelly include:
Sheridan is an Irish surname. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic Ó Sirideáin 'descendant of Sirideáin', a given name meaning 'to seek'. Originating in County Longford, the Sheridans were erenaghs of Granard, but in the County Cavan served the O'Reillys.
Reilly is an Irish surname, and is derived from the Gaelic Ó Raghallaigh Sept that was based in Counties Cavan and Westmeath. Reilly is among the ten most frequently found surnames in Ireland and although they are very widespread they can be mostly found in the region of the ancestral homeland. The Riley spelling is an anglicized version and not found originally in Ireland.
