Irish surnames

Here is a few common Irish surnames.  If you are trying to research your roots, these names may help you.

Brennan, Brown or Browne, Boyle, Burke and Byrne.
I'll post more Irish surnames later.

The prefixes of "O", "Mc", and Mac are common in Irish surnames.  These are all refrences to ancestry.

Mac is the Gaelic word for son.  It is abbreviated to "Mc", but originally it was the longer word and normally followed by a space and then the surname.  There is a tradition that Mac is Irish and Mc is Scottish, but that is not true.  Both variations are in wide use in both countries.

O is really a word  all by itself, it means "grandson."  Only recently has it been attached to the surname with an apostrophe.

In ancient Ireland, there were no fixed surnames.  A man was known as the "son of" his father's first name.  Occasionally a man would be known by his grandfather's name (by the word O) if his grandfather was noteworthy. Irish families adopted standarized surnames in the 12th century.

The other Irish prefix is Fitz, as in Fitzgerald or FitzAlan. This is a Norman-French prefix brought to Ireland by the Normans who previously had lived in England. It's meaning is "son of."

It is not unusual for the O and Mac prefixes to be eliminated entirely.

maggiemahone1

Hi, Maggie,
I´m widower. The last name of my wife is WYSE, could you please tell me the origin?
Have a nice day!

Hi Jorge,

I'm sorry that it has taken awhile to get back to you.  I have been doing some grandbaby sitting and that keeps me busy.
From the info I gathered on the name Wyse, it originated in Devonshire, England.  The family Wyse were seated anciently as Lords of the manor of Greston, at the time of the conquest in 1066.  (Battle of Hastings)

There are different spellings such as, Vise, Weis, Weiss, Wice, Wiess, Wise and Wyse.

The coat of arms is...
shield:  black with 3 ermine chevrons
crest: a half lion holding a mace
motto: sapere aude

If I find anything else out on this name I will let you know.

maggiemahone

Thank you, Maggie, you are very kind. I was wrong, I supposed that Wyse was Irish. Again, best wishes for you and family.
Jorge

Sorry, it´s me again. Do you have a little time to search a bit about my Dewey name?. Take your time, and, thanks a lot!
Jorge

Jorge, yes I will do some research on your surname.  It might take a few days, but I'll try to find something.

maggiemahone1

I'm reading that just now...
Wyse could also originate in Germany, it sounds like "Weise" which means "wise".
Also the pronunciation of some variations of the name (Vice, Weiss) sound like the german word "Weiss" which means the colour white.
And in his famous Essay "Was ist Aufklärung" The German philosopher Immanuel Kant used "sapere aude" in the introduction.

"Sapere Aude" means (lat.) something like "dare to think" and it doesn't sound like a family name of the medieval which was dominated by war and not by thinkers like the 18th-19th century.

That's just what I think about that name after I read your post maggie.

Thank you Aon Daona, very useful data.
Jorge

My wife, formerly Rose Hagan has asked me to inform if anyone knows any history of the Hagan name?  Because I have Scottish ancestry I tell her Hagan means " can drive anyone crazy" She and I would appreciate if anyone has any infor or a road to take to check it out ourselves.
Thanks

Ok, Knightly Knight, I have come up with this little bit of info on the Hagan surname...

The Irish name Hagan is derived from the native Gaelic O'hAgain Sept that was originally rendered as O'hOgain, from a Gaelic word meaning 'young.'  This sept was located in the Province of Ulster and County Tyrone in particular  Another Sept, O'hAodhagain of County Armagh, also anglicized their name as O'Hagan.

I checked this out with 2 sources and come up with the same thing.  Here is a website you can go to and find out a little more on Hagan.

http://www.ireland.com

At the top of the page on the right go to...take me to ...and click on... ancestors

maggiemahone1

Thanks from both of us Maggie. Yes 'young' does describe her. She is four yrs older than me and looks twenty years younger than me.lol   Maggie you are a wealth of information.
Thanks so much again

Hi!!!!    
Im supposedly descended from Conn of a hundred battles.   (maybe scurmishes)  hehe:)

Hi!!!!    
Im supposedly descended from Conn of a hundred battles.   (maybe scurmishes)  hehe:)

OPPPS... sorry too much Brew

Quote (Guest @ Jan. 18 2003,9:05)

OPPPS... sorry too much Brew

  Maybe that's why there were a Hundred Battles.