O'Sullivan is a surname of Irish origin. The surname is associated with the southwestern part of Ireland, and was originally found in County Tipperary and Kerry before the Anglo-Norman invasion. It is the third most numerous surname in Ireland. Roughly half of O'Sullivans hail from Ireland, with around 50% of the O'Sullivans residing there. [1]
Ó Súilleabháin consists of ó (Old Irish úa ) "grandchild, descendant", and the masculine genitive case of Súileabhán, viz. Súileabhán's grandchild/descendant. The female form in Modern Irish is Ní Shúileabhán; "ní" is the shortened form of iníon uí, iníon "daughter", uí, the genitive of ó "grandchild, descendant".
The etymology of the given name is uncertain. In his book titled The Surnames of Ireland, genealogist Edward MacLysaght states that “while there is no doubt that the basic word is súil (eye) there is a disagreement as to the meaning of the last part of the name.” It is interpreted as súildubhán ⇄ “little dark-eyed one” by Woulfe in Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall, from súil ⇄ "eye," dubh ⇄ "dark/black," and combined with the diminutive suffix -án. Other suggested etymologies include "one-eyed" and "hawk-eyed." [2]
The original bearer of the name, one Suilebhan mac Maolura, is recorded in legendary Irish genealogy as belonging to the 8th generation after Fíngen mac Áedo Duib, and placed in the 9th century. [3]
MacLysaght lists Mac Criomhthain (MacCrohan) and Mac Giolla Chuda (MacGillycuddy) as notable branches of the Súileabhánaigh in County Kerry.
O'Sullivan is the regular anglicization of the Irish name. Less common spelling variants of the name include: Sullavan, Sullivant, Sillivant, Silliphant, and Sillifant.
Some O'Sullivans in the midlands and south Ulster were originally (O) Sullahan (from Ó Súileacháin, probably from súileach, quick-eyed, according to MacLysaght). This surname has now almost entirely changed to Sullivan .
Murphy is an Irish surname.
The Eóganachta were an Irish dynasty centred on Cashel which dominated southern Ireland from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, to the late 16th century. By tradition the dynasty was founded by Conall Corc but named after his ancestor Éogan, the firstborn son of the semi-mythological 3rd-century king Ailill Aulom. This dynastic clan-name, for it was never in any sense a 'surname,' should more accurately be restricted to those branches of the royal house which descended from Conall Corc, who established Cashel as his royal seat in the late 5th century.
Dempsey is a surname of Irish origin.
A formal Irish name consists of a given name and a surname. In the Irish language, most surnames are patronymic surnames, distinct from patronyms, which are seen in Icelandic names, for example. The form of a surname varies according to whether its bearer is a man, a woman, or a woman married to a man, who adopts his surname.
Cotter is a surname that originates in England and Ireland. It can also be an Anglicization, chiefly in North America, of a similar-sounding German surname.
Donoghue or O'Donoghue is an anglicised form of the Irish language surname Ó Donnchadha or Ó Donnchú.
O'Sullivan is an Irish Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Cork and County Kerry. According to traditional genealogy, the O’Sullivans were descended from the ancient Eóganacht Chaisil sept of Cenél Fíngin, the founder of the clan who was placed in the 9th century, eight generations removed from Fíngen mac Áedo Duib, king of Cashel or Munster from 601 to 618. Later, they became the chief princes underneath their close kinsmen, the MacCarthy dynasty, in the small but powerful Kingdom of Desmond, successor of Cashel/Munster. The last independent ruler of the clan was Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare, who was defeated in the Nine Years' War of 1594–1603.
Hogan is an Irish surname, mostly from County Tipperary. It is the anglicised form of Gaelic ÓhÓgáin ‘descendant of Ógán', a name meaning 'young warrior'. It may also be an anglicised form of Ó hEochagáin (Houghegan). Notable people with the surname include:
Mulcahy is a surname of Irish Gaelic origin. The anglicized form of "Ó Maolchatha" which in Gaelic means 'a descendant of a devotee of Cathach', a personal name meaning Warlike. The name is thought to originate in County Tipperary, however the earliest mention of the family appears in the Annals of Inisfallen in 1317 AD and subsequent references in and around the Churches of County Kerry in the 15th century.
Diarmaid is a masculine given name in the Irish language, which has historically been anglicized as Jeremiah or Jeremy, names with which it is etymologically unrelated. The name Dimity might have been used as a feminine English equivalent of the name in Ireland. Earlier forms of the name include Diarmit and Diarmuit. Variations of the name include Diarmait and Diarmuid. Anglicised forms of the name include Dermody, Dermot and Dermod. Mac Diarmata, anglicised McDermott and similar, is the patronymic and surname derived from the personal name. The exact etymology of the name is debated. There is a possibility that the name is derived in part from dí, which means "without"; and either from airmit, which means "injunction", or airmait, which means "envy". The Irish name later spread to Scotland where in Scottish Gaelic the form of the name is Diarmad; Anglicised forms of this name include Diarmid and Dermid.
Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin was an Irish language author, linen draper, politician, and one-time hedge school master. He is also known as Humphrey O'Sullivan.
Raftery is a surname originating in Ireland, predominantly in County Mayo, County Galway and County Roscommon. Edward MacLysaght observes that 'Raftery, sometimes confused with Rafferty, is quite a different name', originating as 'O'Reachtaire', 'reacht' meaning 'decree'.
The surname Ford has several origins. In some cases it originated as a name for someone who lived near a ford, and is therefore derived from the Old English and Middle English ford. In some cases, the surname is derived from places named Ford. Examples of such places include Ford in Northumberland, a place in Somerset, Ford in Shropshire, Ford in West Sussex, and Forde in Dorset.
Sean O'Sullivan
Mór Muman or Mór Mumain is a figure from early Irish literature who is said to have been a queen of Munster and daughter of king Áed Bennán. Her name means "the Great Mother" and the province of Munster is named after her. She is believed to be a euhemerised mother goddess and sovereignty goddess of the province, particularly of the Eóganachta. Mór Muman "personifies the land of Munster" and "the sovereignty of the region". She is also known as Mugain and may be the same figure as Anu and the Morrígan.
Aulay is a Scottish masculine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic Amhladh, Amhlaidh, Amhlaigh, and Amhlaibh. The standard Irish Gaelic form of these names is Amhlaoibh ; which can be Anglicised as Auliffe and Humphrey.
Knockgraffon is a townland in the civil parish of the same name in County Tipperary, Ireland The civil parish lies in the barony of Middle Third. It is also part of the ecclesiastical parish of New Inn & Knockgraffon in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Interesting features include a fine Motte, a church and a castle.
Micheal is a masculine given name. It is sometimes an anglicized form of the Irish names Micheál, Mícheál and Michéal; or the Scottish Gaelic name Mìcheal. It is also a spelling variant of the common masculine given name Michael, and is sometimes considered erroneous.
Quinn is an Anglicised form of the Irish Ó Coinn or Mac Cuinn. The latter surname means "descendant of Conn". The surname Quinn is also rendered Ó Cuinn or Mac Cuinn in Irish. The surname is borne by several unrelated families in Ireland, especially in the northern province of Ulster and also the counties of Clare, Longford, and Mayo. According to the historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Quins were part of the Conmaicne Rein tribe in Ireland who came from the Erainn tribe who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland from about 500 and 100 BC. The most notable family of the name are that of Thomond, a Dalcassian sept, who derive their surname from Niall Ó Cuinn who was slain at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. This family was formerly represented by the Earls of Dunraven. Another family is that seated in Annaly, who were related to the O'Farrell lords of Longford. Another Quinn family was seated at An Chraobh, County Tyrone and they were related to the O'Neill Kings of Tír Eoghain and for whom they acted as Hereditary Quartermasters. Other families include one seated in Antrim; one seated in Raphoe; and one called Clann Cuain, seated near Castlebar. In the seventeenth century, the surname Quinn was common in Waterford. In 1890, the surname was numerous in Dublin, Tyrone, Antrim, and Roscommon. Quinn is one of the twenty most common surnames in Ireland. the surname Quinn is sometimes associated with Catholics, while Quin is associated with Protestants.