My recent article on “That’s Not an Irish Name” has prompted a lot of comment from readers with interesting names, and theories about their derivation. I must also acknowledge one mistake. Bill Delaney of Philadelphia corrected me on the name Delaney, which had been given as an example of the many Norman names with the prefix “De.” Delaney, however, is of course, derived from the Gaelic root O’Dubhslaine which has been anglicized to O’ Delaney or, more commonly, Delaney.
Ireland’s most famous Delany, was Ronnie Delany who won the 1956 Olympic Gold Medal for the 1500 meters.
By coincidence Don Deane writes asking about the origin of his name and suggesting a possible connection with Delaney.
This, however, is unlikely. There are several possible derivations. Dean is one of the Tribes of Galway, the 12 Norman families which once dominated this city, and is derived from le Den. There are also Deans deriving from the Gaelic O’Deaghain (in Tipperary) and from Mac and Deaganaigh (in Donegal).
Some other unlikely-sounding Irish names have come to my attention. Once again most are names derived from mistranslations of the Gaelic name. These are usually based on the fact that the Gaelic name sounds like another Gaelic word, which becomes the basis of the transla-tion. For instance, the name Hand is derived from McClave because the similar sounding Gaelic word for a hand (lámh) is pronounced lawve; Godwin (from O’Dea as Dia is the Gaelic for God); Whitehead (from Canavan, which sounds like cean-na bán which translates as white head); Freeman (from Seery which sounds like saoirse, meaning free); Short (from McGirr, giorra being the Gaelic word for short); Silk or Silke (from Sheedy which sounds like sioda, meaning silk); Kingston (from Cloughry, the first part of which sounds like cloch meaning a stone); Waters (from Toorish, the latter part of which sounds like uisce meaning water); King (from various Gaelic names containing Ree or rí meaning a King, e.g. McAree, Conry, McGiollaree etc). In addition there are names which are direct translations of the Gaelic name: These include: Judge (from Brehony or Brehon meaning a judge) and Farmer (from McScollog or the son of the small farmer).
It should be remembered that in many Henry Ford in his first Model-T cases there are also families of the above names which originated from English immigrants to Ireland.
An example of a family which originates from both Anglicization of Gaelic names, and immigration, is Forde.
Indeed Edward McLysaght, the authority on Irish family names, has written, “It is impossible for any Irishman called Ford or Forde to know the origin of his people unless there be a firm family tradition to aid him or alternatively he knows that they have long been located in a certain part of the country.” The Gaelic Fordes are derived from three entirely different septs. Two of these are mistranslations based on the occurrence in the Gaelic name of the word áth (pronounced awe) meaning a ford (i.e. a water-crossing). They are McGiollarnath which is found in South-West Galway, and McConsnamha, which was also anglicized as McKinnawe, and is found in Leitrim. The third, less usual derivation is from O’Fuarthain which is generally translated as Foran, but sometimes as Ford. In addition there are Fordes of immigrant extraction, this being a common English name.
Among the most famous Fords is Henry Ford whose Model T automobile changed the face of America forever. Ford’s father William left County Cork during the Famine era.
An equally interesting Ford was Patrick Ford (1835-1913) who was born in Galway and emigrated to Boston with his parents in 1842. He became a journalist and by 1859 he was editor and publisher of the Boston Sunday Times. He fought in the Civil War in the 9th Massachusetts Regiment, and took part in the charge at Fredericksburg.
In 1870 he settled in New York where he founded the Irish World newspaper. From here on he devoted himself to the cause of Irish freedom and he used the Irish World to castigate England and her policies. In 1881, for instance, he published A Criminal History of the British Empire. In the 1880s he organized 2,500 branches of the Irish Land League, which was then actively campaigning for land reforms in Ireland. He raised $300,000 for the League and was a major element of the success of this campaign. Gladstone, who was the British Prime Minister of the time, is reported to have said, “But for the work that the Irish World is doing, and the money it is sending across the ocean, there would be no agitation in Ireland.”
In this issue read the profile of actor Harrison Ford who is the son of an Irish immigrant.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the November December 1993 issue of Irish America. ♦
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