Origin
Mayo : 1: English: variant of Mayhew.2: Altered form of French Mailloux.3: Altered form of French Maheu.4: Spanish: nickname from mayo ‘May’ bestowed on someone born or baptized in the month of May.5: Spanish: habitational name from any of the flows of water or lagoons so called such as Regato del Mayo (Zamora) and Arroyo de Mayo (Seville).6: Galician: habitational name from a Castilianized form of O Maio or Maio Grande and Maio Pequeno placenames in A Coruña province Galicia (Spain) of pre-Roman origin.
Battle : 1: English (of Norman origin): from Old French de la bataile ‘(man) of the battle-array; warrior’. This name was taken to Scotland by a family from Umfreville France in the early 13th century.2: Irish (Sligo and Mayo): adopted for Mac Concatha ‘son of Cú Chatha’ a personal name meaning ‘hound of battle’ (where con is genitive of cú ‘hound’ + cath ‘battle’).
Bingham : 1: English (Dorset) and Irish (County Mayo): habitational name from Bingham (Nottinghamshire). The placename is probably from an Old English folk-name Bynningas (‘the people associated with a man named Bynna’) or possibly from an unattested Old English word bing ‘a kettle-shaped hollow’ + Old English hām ‘homestead’.2: Irish (Ulster of Scottish origin): altered form of Bigham.3: American shortened and altered form of various like-sounding Jewish surnames such as Bingenheimer.
Brogan : Irish (Donegal and Mayo): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Brógáin ‘descendant of Brógán’ a personal name of unexplained etymology though it has been suggested that it is a diminutive of bróg ‘shoe’.
Bywater : 1: English: topographic name for someone living by a lake or river from Middle English by ‘by beside’ + water ‘water’.2: Irish: pseudo-translation (due to confusion with sruth ‘stream’) of Gaelic Ó Srutháin ‘descendant of Sruithán’ a personal name from a diminutive of sruith ‘sage elder’. Bywater is found as the English form of this Gaelic name in County Cork while in Mayo the usual Anglicization is Ryan.
Cauley : Irish (Down Sligo and Mayo): shortened form of McCauley.
Cavanah : Irish:: 1: with stress on the first syllable this is a shortened Anglicized form of Mac Caomhánach see Kavanagh.2: alternatively with stress on -van- this is a shortened form of McCavana from Mac an Mhanaigh ‘son of the monk’ (from manach ‘monk’). This was a Mayo surname also Anglicized by translation as Monk and Monks.
Clark : 1: English: from Middle English clerk clark ‘clerk cleric writer’ (Old French clerc; see Clerc). The original sense was ‘man in a religious order cleric clergyman’. As all writing and secretarial work in medieval Christian Europe was normally done by members of the clergy the term clerk came to mean ‘scholar secretary recorder or penman’ as well as ‘cleric’. As a surname it was particularly common for one who had taken only minor holy orders. In medieval Christian Europe clergy in minor orders were permitted to marry and so found families; thus the surname could become established.2: Irish (Westmeath Mayo): in Ireland the English surname was frequently adopted partly by translation for Ó Cléirigh; see Cleary.3: Americanized form of Dutch De Klerk or Flemish De Clerck or of variants of these names and possibly also of French Clerc. Compare Clerk 2 and De Clark.4: Americanized form of Italian Calarco.
Coen : 1: Irish (Galway and Mayo): variant of Cowan or an alternative Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Cúáin or Ó Cadhain (see Coyne).2: Dutch and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Koen.
Crahan : Irish: according to MacLysaght this is a Kerry variant of McCrohan or a Mayo form of O'Creaghan a variant of Crean. This surname is rare in Ireland and Britain.
Deasy : Irish (Cork and Mayo): variant of Dacey.
Deignan : Irish (Sligo and Mayo): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Duibhgeannáin ‘descendant of Duibhgeannán’ a diminutive of Duibhgeann (see Deegan and compare Degnan).
Derrig : Irish (Sligo and Mayo): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Deirg ‘descendant of Dearg’ a byname meaning ‘red’. In Gaelic pronunciation an epenthetic vowel is inserted between r and g.
Dowd : 1: Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Dubhda ‘descendant of Dubhda’ a byname derived from dubh ‘dark black’. The family were chieftains in Sligo and Mayo. The surname in northern England seems to have come from the Isle of Man.2: English: from the Middle English personal name Doude perhaps a side-form of either Dodde (see Dodd and compare Dowding) or of Daude a pet form of Ralph (see Dawson and Dowson). A nickname from Middle English doude ‘shabby unattractive woman’ is formally also possible but seems unlikely to have become a hereditary surname.
Durkin : 1: Irish (Sligo and Mayo): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Duarcáin ‘son of Duarcán’ a byname representing a diminutive of duairc ‘surly’.2: English: variant of Derkin from the Middle English personal name Derkin originally a borrowing from Flemish settlers of Middle Dutch Dierkin a pet form of Diederik (ancient Germanic Theuderic from theud ‘people’ + rīk ‘power rule’); the name was also used as a pet form of Middle English Der(e) (Old English Dēor). Late Middle English -er- frequently changed to -ar- before another consonant and when -er- remained in early modern English it fell together with -ir- and -ur- in a new pronunciation /ər/. Alternatively Derkin may be a variant of Dorking a habitational name from Dorking Surrey from the Old English personal name Deorc + -ingas denoting association.3: Russian: nickname from durka a familiar form for durak ‘fool idiot’ formed with the possessive suffix -in.
Ferrick : Irish (County Mayo): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Phiaraic ‘son of Piers’. The Piers in question is probably the 12th-century Norman baron Piers de Bermingham founder of the McCorish family of which this is a branch. See also Feerick.
Goggins : Irish (Cork and Mayo): variant of Goggin (from Mac Cogadháin; see Coogan) with English excrescent -s. Compare Googins.
Goodwin : 1: English: from the Middle English personal name Godwin (Old English Gōdwine). Compare Godwin.2: Irish: adopted in Mayo for Ó Goidín a variant of Ó Godáin ‘descendant of Godán’ a diminutive personal name from got ‘stammering lisping’.
Harris : 1: English (southern England and south Wales): from the personal name Harry + genitival -s. This surname is also established in Ireland taken there principally during the Plantation of Ulster. However in some cases particularly in families coming from County Mayo Harris can be an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hEarchadha. This surname is also very common among African Americans.2: American shortened and altered form of Greek surnames begining with Cha(r)- such as Chasandrinos (variant of Kassandrinos a habitational name from the Kassandra peninsula of Chalkidiki) and various patronymics from the personal name Charalampos (see Charos). In North America the surname Harris may possibly also originate from a transferred use of the Greek personal (given) name Charis or Harris (shortened forms of Charalampos) as a surname (i.e. as a replacement of the original surname).3: Americanized form of various like-sounding Jewish surnames.
Hefferon : Irish:: 1: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÉimhrín ‘descendant of Éimhrín’ a diminutive of the legendary personal name Éimhear (still in use as the female personal name Emer). This is the name of a prominent Mayo family. The e vowel of the first syllable distinguishes it from Havron which arises from Ó hAmhráin.2: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hUidhrín ‘descendant of Uidhrín’ a personal name from a diminutive of odhar ‘dun sallow swarthy’. Compare McGivern in which the dh of Uidhrín has also been Anglicized by a bilabial rather than a dental fricative. Where the fricative is lost there has been some confusion with Hearn. There may also have been some confusion with Heffernan.
Hession : Irish (Galway and Mayo): variant of Hesson.
Hosty : Irish (Mayo and Galway) and Welsh: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Oiste or Mac Coiste a patronymic from a Gaelicized form of the English personal name Hodge originally borne by a Welshman Hodge Merrick who lived in Mayo in the 13th century. Members of this family settled in the area of Gleann Hoiste (Glenhest) Mayo which retains the Gaelicized form Hoiste for Hodge.
Hulvey : Altered form of Irish O'Halvey. In counties Galway and Mayo this is an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAilmhic ‘descendant of Ailmhac’ a personal name meaning ‘noble son’. In Leinster Halvey is found as an equivalent of Holloway.
Joyce : 1: English: principally from the Middle English and Old French personal name Joce Josse Joice a Romance form of Old Breton Iuthoc a pet form of a name in Iuth- ‘lord’ with the hypocoristic suffix -oc. Joce became popular as a personal name especially in medieval Picardy Artois Normandy and Flanders through the cult of Saint Josse. According to legend he was the brother or son of the 7th-century Breton king Judhael (see Jewell) and gave up his inheritance to become a hermit in the place recorded in the 8th century as Sanctus Jodocus now Saint-Josse-sur-Mer near Étaples in Pas-de-Calais. The cult was promoted in the second half of the 8th century by the Frankish king Charlemagne and was brought to England (Winchester) in the early 10th century by refugees from Saint-Josse the centre of the cult but use of the personal name in England is not known until after the Norman Conquest. Middle English Joce also was sometimes used as a female name (as Joyce is in modern times) and this may have also given rise to a surname.2: English: sometimes a variant of Goss from the ancient Germanic personal name Gozzo Gauz which often became Joce Joice Joss(e) in Old French. It was frequently used as a short form of Goscelin or Joscelin (see Joslin).3: English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Jort in Calvados France. It is not certain that this surname has survived into the modern period.4: Irish: of Norman origin from Joce or Joice (see 1 above) Gaelicized as Seóigh or Seóigheach in Ireland where it has been established since the 12th century. The distribution of this name is concentrated in counties Galway and Mayo and gave rise to the eponymous district of Joyce Country (Dúiche Sheoigheach) located along the border between those two counties. Joy is another Anglicized form of this name usually confined to County Kerry Ireland.5: English (of French Huguenot origin): from French Josse identical in origin with 1 above.
Keeven : Irish: variant of Keevan which is an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ciabháin ‘descendant of Ciabhán’ a personal name or byname based on ciabhach ‘having long locks of hair’ or Ó Caomháin ‘descendant of Caomhán’ a diminutive of caomh ‘pleasant’; this is the name of an important Mayo family.
Kiggins : Irish (Galway and Mayo) and Manx: shortened Anglicized form (with English excrescent -s) of Gaelic Mag Uiginn ‘son of the Viking’ (see Higgins).
Kilbane : Irish (mainly Mayo): Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Giolla Bháin ‘son of the fair-haired lad’ (see Bain) also Anglicized as McElwain or ‘translated’ as White.
Kilgallen : Irish (Sligo and Mayo): variant of Kilgallon.
Kirby : 1: English: habitational name from any of numerous places in northern and eastern England called Kirby or Kirkby from Old Norse kirkja ‘church’ + bȳ ‘farmstead village’.2: Irish: adopted for Ó Garmhaic ‘descendant of Cíarmhac’ a personal name meaning ‘dark son’. Compare Kerwick.3: Irish: Anglicized form of Mac Geirble ‘son of Geirble’ a personal name of uncertain origin. The name is preserved in the townland name of Carrowkeribly in County Mayo.4: Americanized form of French Corbeil or of its cognate Corbeille which is in North America (also) an altered form of the former name.
Kyne : Irish (Galway and Mayo): variant of Coyne.
Lavin : 1: Irish (Sligo Roscommon Mayo): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Láimhín a shortened form of Ó Flaithimhín ‘descendant of Flaithimhín’ a personal name from a diminutive of flaith ‘prince ruler’. This name is sometimes translated Hand from the similarity of the shortened form to lámh ‘hand’.2: Irish (Tipperary): variant of Laffin.3: English (Cornwall): of Norman origin from an Anglo-Norman French and Middle English female personal name Lavin. It derives either from Latin Lavinia the name of the second wide of Aeneas in Virgil's Aeneid or perhaps from a female form of the Anglo-Norman French male personal name Lafin inferred at Laffin.4: Spanish (Lavín): habitational name from Lavin a place so named in the Cantabria province.5: Swedish: from an unidentified first element + the adjectival suffix -in a derivative of Latin -in(i)us ‘relating to’.6: French (Somme): perhaps from either of the Old French personal names inferred at 3. This surname is very rare in France.
Maune : 1: Irish: possibly from the Norman personal name Mayon a pet form of Matthew. In County Mayo it is a variant of Mahan.2: German: habitational name from a place called Mauna near Meissen.
McAndrew : Scottish and Irish (Mayo): Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Aindreis (Scottish) or Mac Aindriú (Irish) ‘son of Andrew’. This patronymic was assumed by the Barretts of Mayo.
McCavana : from Mac an Mhanaigh ‘son of the monk’ from manach ‘monk’. This was a Mayo surname also anglicized by translation as Monk and Monks. The original stress fell on the -van- syllable but there has been some later confusion with Kavanagh and similar names with stress on Kav-.
McEvilly : Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Mhílidh ‘son of the knight’ from Gaelic míleadh ‘warrior knight’. In County Mayo and County Cork a family of English origin Gaelicized their name from Staunton to Mac an Mhílidh apparently because of the latter's presumed similarity to the name of their ancestor Milo de Stanton.
McGuane : Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Dhubháin a patronymic from the personal name Dubhán a derivative of dubh ‘dark black’. The surname has also been Anglicized (in Mayo) as McGowan. Compare Doane.
McHale : Irish (Mayo):: 1: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Céile or more often Mac Chéile a patronymic from the byname Céile ‘companion client’. This was the surname of a Mayo family tenants of church lands. Originally the final -e would have been pronounced.2: Anglicized form of Mac Haol ‘son of Haol’ a Gaelicized form of Welsh Hywel (see Howell) which was adopted by a Welsh family of this name who settled in County Mayo.
Millett : 1: English: variant of Millet.2: Irish (Tipperary Galway and Mayo): from Míolóid or its variant Méalóid a byname based on Latin miles militis ‘soldier’.
Mongan : Irish (Galway and Mayo): variant of Mangan.
Moynihan : Irish:: 1: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Muimhneacháin ‘descendant of Muimhneachán’ a diminutive of the byname Muimhneach ‘Munsterman’ i.e. someone belonging to the province of Munster. In Mayo this surname has sometimes been translated into English as Munster. There has been some confusion with Monaghan.2: variant of Monaghan. The Anglicized forms of this name can be indistinguishable from 1.
Mulchrone : from Ó Maoilchróin ‘descendant of Maolchrón’ a personal name meaning ‘swarthy youth’. This is originally a Mayo surname.
Mullany : Irish (Sligo Roscommon and Mayo): variant of Mullaney.
Mullarkey : Irish (Sligo Mayo and Galway): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Maoilearca ‘descendant of Maoilearca’ a personal name meaning ‘devotee of (Saint) Earc’ a personal name from a poetic word with various possible meanings: ‘dark red speckled’ or ‘salmon’.
Mullay : apparently from Ó Maolaodha see Molloy">Molloy.John Mulloy alias Molloy Mullay born in Twomore Mayo 1802 in TNA; James Mullay 1817 in IGI (Tingwall Shetland).
Mulloy : Irish (mainly Mayo): variant of Molloy">Molloy.
Myles : 1: Scottish (mainly Angus and Fife) and Irish (Cork and Mayo): Anglicized form of Gaelic Maolmhuire a personal name meaning ‘devotee of (the Virgin) Mary’. Compare Mullery. It is impossible to distinguish from sense 2 below.2: English (Lancashire): variant of Miles.
Needham : 1: English: habitational name from any of various places so named such as High Needham in Hartington (Derbyshire) Needham in Elm (Cambridgeshire) Needham (Norfolk) Needham in Yaxley Needham Street in Gazeley or Needham Market (all in Suffolk). These places are named with Old English nēd ‘need hardship’ + hām ‘homestead’ denoting a place that provided a poor living.2: Irish (County Mayo): Anglicized form of Ó Niadh see Nee.
Niland : 1: Altered form of Norwegian and Swedish Nyland.2: Irish (Galway and Mayo): variant of Nealon.3: Probably also an altered form of German or Dutch Nieland.
Nyland : 1: Norwegian and Swedish: habitational name from any of several farmsteads or places called with ny ‘new’ + land ‘(piece of) land farm’. The Swedish name may also be of ornamental origin.2: Dutch: variant mostly archaic or Americanized of Nijland a topographic name from nijland ‘newly cultivated land’. This form of the surname is also found in Germany (compare Nieland). Compare also Neyland.3: Irish (Galway and Mayo): variant of Nealon.
O'Grady : Irish (Limerick and Mayo): Anglicized form of Gaelic from Ó Grádaigh ‘descendant of Gráda’ a personal name meaning ‘noble’ (see Grady).
Quinn : Irish:: 1: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Coinn earlier spelled Ó Cuinn ‘descendant of Conn’ a personal name meaning ‘wisdom’ or ‘chief’ (see O'Quinn). This is the name of several families in Ulster and counties Clare Longford and Mayo.2: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Coinne ‘descendant of Coinne’ a personal name which may be a variant of Coinneach (see also McKenzie). This is an Ulster surname a sept deriving from Eoghan son of Niall Naoighiallach from whom Tyrone is named. In most cases the Anglicized forms cannot be distinguished from sense 1 above although final -e may have been intended as syllabic.
Reape : English and Irish (County Mayo): variant of Reap.
Stanton : English: habitational name from any of numerous places in England called Stanton or Staunton especially Stanton in Staffordshire and Staunton in Worcestershire all named with Old English stān ‘stone’ + tūn ‘farmstead estate’. Most of the placenames come from their situation on stony ground but in the case of Stanton Harcourt in Oxfordshire and Stanton Drew in Avon the reference is to the proximity of prehistoric stone monuments. The name has also sometimes been chosen by Ashkenazic Jews as an Americanized form of various like-sounding Jewish surnames. This surname has also long been established in Ireland (especially Mayo).
Timlin : Irish: from a pet form of the personal name Thomas. According to MacLysaght this was the name of a family of Norman Welsh origin that formed a sept in the Irish fashion in the barony of Tirawley Mayo. The name is recorded as Tomilin in the 17th century and has been Gaelicized as Mac Toimilin.
Tolan : Irish (Donegal and Mayo): variant of Toland.
Varley : 1: English: of Norman origin a habitational name from Vesly (Manche also Eure) Verly (Aisne) or Vrély (Somme).2: English: habitational name from Varley in Marwood (Devon) or Varleys in Petrockstow (Devon) from Old English fearn ‘fern’ + lēah ‘wood woodland clearing’.3: English: southern variant of Farley.4: Irish (Galway and Mayo): possibly a variant of Varrelly a rare Irish surname of uncertain origin.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
FANBI : The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, ©2021, University of the West of England
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