Shanahan is a surname of Irish origin. Notable people with the surname include:
Brennan is an Irish surname which is an anglicised form of two different Irish-language surnames: Ó Braonáin and Ó Branáin. Historically, one source of the surname was the prominent clan Ua Braonáin (O'Brennan) of Uí Duach (Idough) in Osraige who were a junior Dál Birn sept stemming from a younger son of Cerball mac Dúnlainge (d.888). Recent surname evaluations highlighted the geographic consistency of this lineage in the barony of Idough. However, based on the ultimate authority of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh they are out of Ui Dhuinn (O’Dunn) and, therefore, an Uí Failghi tribe, not Osraige. While it is clearly apparent that O’Hart's pedigree is erroneous, it is suggested that Ó Cléirigh probably became confused while transcribing from Mac Fhirbhisigh. This is echoed by the modern scholar, Bart Jaski.
Carr is a common surname in northern England, deriving from the Old Norse kjarr, meaning a brushwood, thicket or copse. It may also come from the ancient Norse Kjarr translation meaning Kaiser from Caesar Kerr is a Scottish variant, often from the Norse and from the Gaelic ciar, meaning "dusky". Carr is also a common surname in Ireland, where it often derives from the nickname, gearr, meaning "short of height". In some cases it is thought to come from the Welsh word cawr, meaning giant. Alternatively, in Ireland and Scotland, it may derive from the Irish and Scottish Gaelic cearr meaning pointed spear.
Murray is both a Scottish and an Irish surname with two distinct respective etymologies. The Scottish version is a common variation of the word Moray, an anglicisation of the Medieval Gaelic word Muireb ; the b here was pronounced as v, hence the Latinization to Moravia. These names denote the district on the south shore of the Moray Firth, in Scotland. Murray is a direct transliteration of how Scottish people pronounce the word Moray. The Murray spelling is not used for the geographical area, which is Moray, but it became the commonest form of the surname, especially among Scottish emigrants, to the extent that the surname Murray is now much more common than the original surname Moray. See also Clan Murray.
The surname Collins has a variety of likely origins in Britain and Ireland:
Bell is a surname common in English speaking countries with several word-origins.
Nolan is a surname, of Irish origin from Ó Nualláin, derived from Irish nuall meaning "noble, famous" combined with a diminutive suffix. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Nolans in Ireland were one of the chiefly families of the Loígis tribe who in turn came from the Cruthin tribe who were the first Celts to settle in Ireland from between 800 and 500 BC.
Dillon is an Irish surname of Breton origin, descending from a cadet branch of Viscomte de Leon in Northern Brittany. It first appeared in Ireland with the arrival of Sir Henry de Leon, in the service of Prince John in 1185. Sir Henry married Maud de Courcy, daughter of Sir John de Courcy and Affrica Guðrøðardóttir. Awarded large tracts of land by in Meath and Westmeath, one of the Dillons’ first Mott & Baileys can still be found at Dunnamona before the establishment of stone structures such as Portlick Castle.
The English-language surname Healy is in use by three separate ancestral lines of people from Ireland.
Johnston is in most cases a habitational surname derived from several places in Scotland. Historically, the surname has been most common throughout Scotland and Ireland.
The surname Burns has several origins. In some cases, it derived from the Middle English or Scots burn, and originated as a topographic name for an individual who lived by a stream. In other cases the surname is a variant form of the surname Burnhouse, which originated as a habitational name, derived from a place name made up of the word elements burn and house. In other cases the surname Burns originated as a nickname meaning "burn house". In other cases, the surname Burns is an Anglicised form of the Irish Ó Broin, which means "descendant of Bran". In some cases the surname Burns is an Americanized form of the Jewish surname Bernstein, which is derived from the German bernstein ("amber").
Ryan is a common surname of Irish origin, as well as being a common given name in the English-speaking world.
Gleeson is an Irish surname. It is an anglicisation of the Irish name Ó Glasáin or Ó Gliasáin. The name is most common in County Tipperary but originates in East County Cork, in the once powerful Uí Liatháin kingdom, where the Gleesons were great lords and sometimes kings. Notable people with the surname include:
Burke is a Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh had the surname de Burgh, which was gaelicised in Irish as de Búrca and over the centuries became Búrc, then Burke, and Bourke.
Dwyer is an Irish surname which is a slightly anglicised variation of O'Dwyer. It is said that people with the surname Dwyer and who come from Ireland all come from the same clan.
Brendan is an Irish masculine given name in the English language. It is derived from the Gaelic name Breandán, which is in turn derived from the earlier Old Irish Brénainn. The Old Welsh breenhin is the root of the name, meaning prince or king. The mediaeval Latin form of the name, Brendanus, has also influenced the modern English and Irish forms. Variant spellings are Brendon and Brenden. In some cases it is possible that the given name Brandon is also a variant of Brendan. A variant spelling of the Irish Breandán is Breanndán.
Maher is a surname. It can be derived from the Irish surname Ó Meachair, but is also found in Arabic ("ماهر").
Kearney or Kearneys is an Irish surname.
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.