Irish America
Irish America
Burke (or Bourke) is one of the most popular Irish names of Norman origin. The name was introduced to Ireland through the person (and presumably extended family) of William Fitzadelm de Burgo, who came to Ireland in 1169 with the Norman invasion forces. William was granted large estates of O'Connor land in Connacht but the family did not effectively gain possession of this … [Read more...] about Roots: The Burkes
The name Walsh or Welsh is one of the most numerous of Norman associated names found in Ireland. It seems to have been the name used independently by the many different groups of Welsh people who arrived in Ireland with the Normans during the 12th century. The name simply means Welshman and its early Norman form was "Le Waleys" but this became gradually anglicized to Walsh. The … [Read more...] about Roots: Walsh, Welsh (or Brannagh)
In a previous article, we discussed the use of church records in researching family history. However, to access church records you will usually need to know where in Ireland an ancestor lived. Making this connection is often the main problem faced by Irish-Americans attempting to trace their roots back to Ireland. Whereas many root-seekers will know that their ancestor was from … [Read more...] about Roots: Land Records in Irish Family History
Readers have asked about the origin of the names Jordan, Rice and Power, only the last of which is in any way common. However, some explanation is provided below. The name Jordan is common in England but few Irish Jordans are derived from the English source. The Irish Jordans are derived from a Norman family which settled in Connaught in the 12th century. The name is derived … [Read more...] about Roots: Jordan, Rice and Power Families
Although the Irish language, or Gaelic, does not have a letter "Q," the distinctive sound of the accented "C" in some Gaelic names has caused them to be anglicized phonetically with this sound. Examples include Quinn, Quinlan, and Quigley, none of which are connected other than by their initial letter. Quinn is perhaps the most common of these names. It is derived from the … [Read more...] about Irish Roots: Quinn, Quinlan and Quigley
