Irish Identity

Where your folk
came from

Hackett Here since the Norman invasion. Settled in Kildare and Kilkenny. In Ulster, linked to MacCahey and MacGahey.	Hadden Or Haddon. Found in Down and Louth. English.
Hade Or Haide. Linked to Hayden and found in the Carlow area.	Hadigan Or Hedigan. Originally Roscommon and Leitrim. Now Clare. Linked to Donegal McGettigans.
MacHaffy Both Scottish and Irish. Mahaffy more commonly used. Found in Donegal and also the anglicisation of MacAfee and MacFie.	O’Hagan Ó hAgáin, which developed from Ó hÓgain, meaning young one. Popular Tyrone sept found also in large numbers in the Oriel counties of Down and Armagh.
Haggerty A variant of Hegarty.	Haher Connected to the Clare Hehir.
Hahessy Found in Waterford.	Haigney Linked to Hegney, Hegeany and Heagney. Often changed to Heaney in Louth. See Tyrone.
MacHale A great north Mayo family still numerous around its homeland.	Halfpenny See Halpenny. Connected to Halpin and found along the Louth-Meath border.
Hall English and common in Ulster.	Hallahan Or Hallighan. Seen in Cork and Waterford.
Halley From Clare, Tipperary, Waterford sector. Related to Mulhall.	Halligan From the Oriel counties of Louth and Armagh. See also Meath.
Hallinan Seen in the Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford belt. Related to Allen and Hanlon.	Hallion Or Hallin. On record in Kilkenny and parts of Tipperary.
Hallissey Generally associated with the Cork-Kerry borderline.	Halloran Fairly popular name in Clare and Galway.
Halpenny See Halfpenny.	Halpin Found in Meath and Wicklow.
Halton English but those in Cavan and Fermanagh come from the Irish O’Haltahan.	Halvey A Galway-Mayo name.
Haly A variant of Healy in Cork.	Hamill A Tyrone sept who expanded into other areas of south Ulster - Monaghan, Armagh and Down.
Hamilton An English-Scottish Borders family who became reasonably numerous since their arrival during Ulster Plantation times.	Hamlin An old, now rarely used Louth-Meath name.
Hammond English origin but sometimes linked to Hamill.	Hanafin Always associated with Kerry. Linked to Hanvey in west Cork.
Hanahan A Limerick name usually changed to Hannon.	Hanahoe Or Hanahy. A Mayo family long time connected with clerical duties in Killala.
Hanbury Or Hambery is seen in Galway and Clare.	Hand English but most Irish are connected to such as Claffey, MacClave, Glavy and Lavan. See north midland counties of Meath, Louth, Westmeath, Offaly and Roscommon.
Haneen Or Hanheen. Sometimes changed to Hannon. Seen in Clare-Galway area.	Haniffy Or Hanify and Hanfey. Connected to Hanvey. Found in Galway, south Roscommon, Westmeath and Longford.
Hankard Seen in south east Cork.	Hanley One of the leading families of Roscommon. See also Cork.
Hanlon A popular south Ulster clan. See Armagh especially. Also Down and Louth.	Hanna Scottish and common in the north east.
Hannavan On record in Monaghan.	Hannick Or Hanwick is a Mayo name.
Hannify See Haniffy.	Hannigan Seen in Tyrone-Donegal sector. Also Waterford.
Hannon From Haneen in Connacht, otherwise Clare.	Hanrahan Spelt Handrahan in south Tipperary and generally a Clare name.
Hanratty Or Hanraghty. An Oriel name. See Louth, Armagh and Monaghan.	Hanvey Seen in parts of Down, Armagh and Cork.
O’Hara A powerful Sligo sept. Some migrated to Antrim.	Haran See Haren, often changed to Horan. Found in Clare and Connacht counties.
Harden English and found in Leinster.	Hardiman English and linked to Hargadan, Harman, Hardman and Hardy. See Galway.
Harding English. Seen in Tipperary and east Meath.	Harding English. Seen in Tipperary and east Meath.
Hardy English but in Connacht is the anglicisation of MacGiolla Deacair. Deacair means hard.	O’Hare Rarely connected to the Clare O’Hehir. An Oriel name common in Down, Armagh, Antrim and Louth.
Haren See Haran.	Harford Mainly English origin and seen in Leinster.
Hargadan Usually changed to Hardiman in Galway.	Hargan An Ulster variant of Horgan.
Harkin Harkins or Harkan, an old Inishowen, Donegal name.	Harley English but sometimes connected to Harrily or Hurley in Cork.
Harman From the German Hereman meaning warrior. Spelt Harmon in Louth and Meath.	Harney A Roscommon name.
Harold Norse origin and seen in Dublin.	Harpar Or Harper. Came to Ulster during the Plantation. Sometimes spelt Harpur from the Norman Le Harpur in Wexford.
Harraghan Seen in Leitrim.	Harron Or Herron. No connection to Haren. A Donegal clan.
Harrigan Connected to Horgan in south west Munster. An anglicisation of the Laois sept O’hArragáin.	Harrihy Harhoe or Harahy in Donegal. Became Harvey in Fermanagh and in Mayo has connections to Harris.
Harrily Possibly a Mayo, Donegal version of Farrelly. Becomes Harley in Donegal.	Harrington English but most Irish having this name come from west Cork.
Harris Or Harrison. English but often links to Harrihy, Horohoe and Henry.	Hart Can be English but mostly from Ó hAirt. Found in Meath.
Hartigan Like Hart, from the Christian name Art. A Clare-Limerick clan.	Hartily Or Hartley, which is English. The first is often Irish and from O hArtghaile meaning Art of valour.
Hartan Usually spelt Harten or sometimes Harton. Found in large numbers in south Cavan.	Hartnane A synonym of Heffernan in Kerry.
Hartnett Harnett in Limerick but the main clan is associated with Cork.	Hartry Found in Waterford-Tipperary sector.
Harty Possibly linked to Faherty. Tipperary-Cork name.	Harvey English and common enough in the northern counties. Seen also in Wexford.
Haslam English name closely associated with Laois-Offaly area.	Hassan An old Derry name.
Hassett A prominent Clare clan but the Kerry planter family of Blennerhassett who have often changed to Hassett are no relation.	Hatton Often MacIlhatton and associated with Derry and the Glens area of Antrim.
Haugh A Clare name sometimes spelt Hough.	Haughey Located in two areas. Donegal and the Oriel counties of north Louth, Armagh and Down.
Haughian Generally found in the Down area. Sometimes anglicised to Hawkins.	Haughton An English Quaker name, on occasions connected to the Irish Haughan and the north Tipperary south Offaly Hoctor, which was originally Ó hEachtair.
Haverty Found in east Galway.	Havlin On record in Donegal.
Hay From the Norman de la Haye. Usually changed to Hayes.	Hayden A Carlow clan, sometimes anglicised to Headan.
Hayes Usually an anglicised version of hAodha. From the Norman de Hay in the south east. A popular Munster name.	Hazlett English origin and seen in Ulster.
Hea Associated with Cork.	Head Or Heade. Originally English but Catholic and thus fell foul of Cromwells to hell and Connacht policy. See Galway.
Heagney See Hegney	Healy Sometimes Hely. Two main septs. One north Connacht, the other west Cork.
Heaney Often as not Heeney. An important Oriel family. Hence its popularity in Louth, Down and Armagh. Another branch in Derry. Also Clare-Limerick area and Mayo.	Heanue A Connemara name.
Heaphy Seen in Waterford. Also Kerry.	Hearne English but used in the south east for Ahearne.
Hearty On record in the border areas of Monaghan and Louth.	Heary Or Heery. Popular enough in north Meath.
Heaslip English and seen on odd occasions in Cavan and Kilkenny.	Heaton English and on record in Offaly. Also Ulster.
Heaven Often Heavin. Found along the Offaly-Westmeath borders. Sometimes changed to Evans.	Heavy Connected to Heaphy. Again see Westmeath-Offaly sector.
Hederman A west Clare family.	Hedian A Roscommon-Leitrim-Westmeath name.
Hedigan Recorded in west Clare. Has originations in Roscommon-Leitrim area.	Hedivan Sometimes spelt Hedievan or Heduan. A Westmeath name.
Heenan Where Tipperary and Offaly meet. See also Down.	Heeney Refer to Heany.
Heerin An Offaly clan. Connected to Heffron.	Heery See Heary.
Heever Linked to MacKeever and Howard.	Heffernan From Clare with expansion into neighbouring areas of Tipperary and Limerick.
Heffron Or Hefferan. A branch of the Tyrone O’Neills, who settled in Mayo. Linked to Heveran and Heerin.	Hegan An Armagh version of Hagan.
Hegarty A Derry-Donegal name but also found in parts of Cork and Limerick.	Hegney See also Heagney. Sometimes changed to Heaney. See Tyrone.
Hehir Or Hegher from the Irish O hAichir. Aichear means bitter or sharp. A very common Clare name.	Helehan A Waterford version of Whelahan.
Helly Seen in Sligo.	Henaghan A Mayo-Roscommon sept.
Henchy Or Hinchy. A Clare form of Hennessy.	Hendrick A branch of the MacMurroughs of Wexford. Still closely associated with south Leinster.
Hendron Norman origin and closely related to Henderson. Common in northern counties.	Henderson Of English or Scottish extraction. Common name in six counties.
Hendry Or Hendrie. Scottish and found in Ulster.	Hendy Seen in Kildare.
Henebry An old Kilkenny-Waterford name. See also Sligo.	Hennelly Possibly connected to Fennelly and fairly common in Mayo.
Hennerty See Cork.	Hennessy A number of distinct septs. From O’hAonghusa, a descendant of Angus. Most frequently noted in Munster.
Hennigan A Mayo variant of Heneghan.	Henrion On record in Westmeath.
Henry With the Mac see Down sector. Could be connected to the Scottish Hendry. Without Derry-Tyrone and also Mayo.	Heraghty Or Heraty. Sometimes connected to Geraghty in Galway and Mayo. Found also in Donegal.
Heran An Armagh name.	Herbert Norman origin. Usually associated with south western counties of Limerick and Kerry.
Herdman English and found in north east.	Herley Connected to the Cork Herlihy.
Herlihy From Ballyvourney in west Cork, sometimes changed to Hurley.	Hernon Seen in parts of Galway and Leitrim. Linked to Heffernan in Munster.
Herrity Linked to Heraghty.	Heskin A Connacht name. Sometimes anglicised to Waters.
Heslin Usually associated with Leitrim.	Hession From the borders of Galway and Mayo. Connected to Usher.
Hester On record in Mayo.	Hestin Related to MacDermot. Spelt Histon in Limerick. Often changed to the English Hastings.
Hetherington Popular enough in Tyrone.	Hever Seen in Sligo.
Heverin Or Hevron. Mayo variants of Heffron.	Hevican Or Havican. Associated with Galway and Roscommon.
Hewitt English and reasonably common throughout.	Heyne Nowadays usually Hynes, a popular Galway name.
Hickey From Ó hIéidhe meaning healer. Popular in mid west belt of Clare, Limerick and north Tipperary.	Higgins A branch of the O’Neills who moved to the Galway-Mayo area.
Hilan A variant of Hyland found in Kildare and Kilkenny.	Hill One of the more common English names.
Hillery An English family with long links to Clare.	Hilliard Anglo/German and seen in Meath.
Hilton English. See Ulster and Dublin.	Hinan Or Hynan is seen in Limerick, Tipperary, Offaly belt.
Hiney Or Hyne. Linked to Galway and Offaly.	Hiskey A Conancht name anglicised to Waters.
Hoare Or Hore. From the Norman Le Hore. Found in Wexford and Cork.	Hoban See Mayo and Galway. Also Kilkenny.
Hobson English and mostly found in Ulster.	Hodgins English and fairly common.
Hoey Once a prominent Ulster clan. Found mostly in the north eastern counties of Louth, Down and Meath.	Hogan From Ó hÓgáin. Óg means young. Long associated with Tipperary. See also Cork.
Hogarty A Galway version of Fogarty.	Hogg English but sometimes from the Irish O’Hagan.
Hoggan Another variant of Hogan.	Holohan Or Hoolahan which is found in Kilkenny. Various septs. Houlihan in Limerick, Clare and north Kerry.
Holden Connected to Howlin and indeed Walsh. Hence Wexford and Kilkenny for location. Holden itself is English.	Holian Linked to Holland and Hyland.
Holland English but from Mulholland in Limerick and Holohan in Clare.	Hollegan Or Holligan. A variant of Halligan.
Holleran Linked to Holloran. See Galway and Mayo.	Holly English but in Ireland usually the anglicised version of Mac Cuilinn in Kerry or Mac Quillan in Armagh.
Hollywood Seen in Dublin and also in parts of north Louth and Armagh.	Holmes Popular and mostly of Scottish extraction. In Mayo it is often the anglicisation of Corish.
Homan English and occurs occasionally in Cork and Dublin.	Honan A west Clare family. Sometimes linked to Honeen.
Honeen Usually anglicised to Greene in Clare. Also Honan.	Hood English but O’Hoods with their affiliation to the O’Neills are Irish.
Hoolahan See Holahan.	Hooney A west Cork clan. Linked to the Clare Honeen.
Hopkins Welsh but in Connacht and Longford it is from the Irish Mac Aibicin.	O’Hora A variant of O’Hara in Mayo. See also Horahoe.
Horan From the Irish O hAdhraín. A popular Mayo clan. Connected to Haren and can also be seen in Cork.	Horgan One of the more familiar Cork names. Changed to Hourigan in Limerick and Arragan in Waterford and south Tipperary.
Horish The anglicisation of O hUarghais in Tyrone. Connected to Caldwell.	Horisky Or Houriskey which was usually anglicised to Waters.
Horkan A variant of Harkin in Mayo.	Horohoe Many variants. Linked to Swinford area of Mayo.
Hosey Both Norman and native. Recorded in Meath, also Kerry. Connected to Hussey.	Hosford Came with Cromwell and usually associated with Cork.
Hosty A Mayo name. Said to have Welsh origins.	Houghegan Mayo-Galway and usually changed to Hogan and Geoghegan.
Hounihan Or Hoonahan is from north Cork and adjoining areas of Limerick.	Hourican On record in Longford.
Hourigan Connected to Horgan. See south west Cork. Also Limerick.	Hourihan Another south west Cork sept. See both Hanrahan and Hourahan.
Houriskey Anglicised Waters. See Horish.	Houston English and generally related to Ulster.
Hovendon Originally this English family settled in Tyrone during the late 1500s. Another arrived in Laois during the Plantation of that area.	Howard English but quite often the anglicised version of Ó hIomhair in Clare.
Howlett Anglo Norman and seen in Wexford.	Howley English but the vast majority of Irish Howleys are from O hUallaigh (Uallach means proud). See Galway-Clare area.
Howlin Sometimes connected to Holden. A Wexford name.	Hoy Closely connected to Hoey and Haughey.
Hoyne On record in Kilkenny. Related to Owens.	Hudson English and seen mostly in Dublin and Ulster.
Huggard Both English and Huguenot. Long connection with Kerry.	MacHugh Two different families in Galway. One located near Tuam, the other a branch of the O’Flahertys in Connemara. Also fairly common in Donegal.
Hughes Welsh origin and fairly widespread.	Hulnane Recorded in east Cork.
Hultagan From Fermanagh with links to Nolan.	Hume Both Scottish and English and seen regularly in Ulster.
Hunt English but many of this name were once Feighey, Feighry and Fey.	Hunter English and again connected to the north east.
Hurley Once a powerful Clare clan, nowadays mostly found in the Cork area.	Hurst English and fairly common.
Hussey Connected to the Norman de Hosey. See Meath and Kerry. O’Hussey is a Fermanagh-Tyrone name.	Hutton A Planters name in the north east.
Hyde A Norman family de la Hyde settled in Kilkenny during the 1300s. Later a Planters family in Cork.	Hyland English but most are from Ó hAoileáin. Connected to Whelan and Phelan.
Hynan Or Hinan. Recorded in Limerick and Tipperary.