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Irish last names
Do Irish last names tell you where you came from in Ireland? If they do, is there a list of names and the places they come from?
Thank you!
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I looked for a link to a site that goes over an extensive list of Irish surnames and where or how they originated, but i didn't find any. There may be a place, I just didn't find it. Perhaps a librarian would be the perfect person to ask being able to point you at a site or reference book that goes over the history of Irish surnames.
I can't remember where I found it but I looked up info. regarding last names in the UK and Ireland when writing a book. I read about Patronymics where once upon a time the last name didn't remain the same as it does now. Here's Wikipedia's definition:
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As far as I call tell Patronymics was practiced once upon a time in Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales. For example, lets say a guys name is Reilly O Shaunessey. His sons last name would be O Reilly, the O meaning son of Reilly. In Wales, the part added on to a fathers first name to indicate your last name was Ap or Ab so if a mans name was Evan Reese, his children would carry a name AbEvan or in later times the AB part was dropped or lets say the B kept to change Evan now to Bevan. In Scotland, the Evan would be MacEvan, for son of Evan. Other ways people got their last names was from their occupation, such as Miller, Tanner, or Wheeler. Or they would be named for the area they came from. When the practice of getting ones surname from a fathers or grandfathers name went out of practice, people used either the last name they already had for their young, or took on names based on the area they came from. The history of names is a fascinating study. Enjoy!
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