Irish Last Name Generator
Authentic Irish surnames from Murphy to Ó Súilleabháin
Generate real Irish last names: the O' and Mc surnames everyone recognises, quieter regional names like Brosnan, Tangney and Lynskey, Norman-Irish families such as Fitzgerald and Power, and the Irish-language forms (Ó, Mac, Ní, Nic) used in the Gaeltacht and in Celtic-flavoured fiction.
About Irish last names
Irish surnames were among the first hereditary family names in Europe, fixed by the 900s and built almost entirely from two words. Ó means "grandson" or "descendant of" and Mac means "son of", so Ó Briain is the line of Brian Boru and Mac Cárthaigh the line of Cárthach. English records rendered them O' and Mc or Mac (and often dropped the prefix altogether, which is why Sullivan, Reilly and Connor exist alongside O'Sullivan, O'Reilly and O'Connor). A smaller group came with the Normans after 1169: Fitzgerald, Burke, Power, Roche, Barry, Butler and Prendergast are Irish by seven centuries of residence, and in Irish they take de (de Búrca, de Paor).
In the Irish language the surname changes with the bearer. A woman is Ní (daughter of Ó) or Nic (daughter of Mac), and the name that follows usually softens: Ó Briain becomes Ní Bhriain, Ó Murchú becomes Ní Mhurchú. Many names also point to a county: O'Sullivan, McCarthy and Twomey to Cork and Kerry, Gallagher and O'Doherty to Donegal, Joyce and Conneely to Connemara, Kavanagh and Byrne to Wicklow and Wexford.
The list mixes the top names with hundreds of real but less familiar ones, plus Gaelic spellings for historical, Gaeltacht and fantasy use, so a cast of characters does not end up being three Murphys and a Kelly.
How to choose Irish last names
- Match the spelling to the setting: O'Sullivan for a modern Dubliner or an Irish-American, Ó Súilleabháin for a Gaeltacht character, a 1600s bard or a Celtic fantasy world.
- Remember the gender rule in Irish-language forms: Ní and Nic are for women, Ó and Mac for men. In English, O' and Mc are used by everyone in the family.
- Use region to add texture: a Kerry family called Moriarty, Brosnan or Tangney, a Donegal one called Gallagher or McGinley, a Galway one called Joyce, Conneely or Folan.
- Vary prefix frequency. Roughly half of real Irish surnames have no O' or Mc at all (Walsh, Ryan, Kelly, Murphy, Doyle), so a cast that is all O'-names reads as a caricature.
- Norman and English-origin names such as Fitzgerald, Burke, Plunkett, Nugent and Tyrrell are fully Irish and are a good fit for gentry, landowners or Pale families in historical fiction.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common Irish last names?
Murphy, Kelly, O'Sullivan, Walsh, Smith, O'Brien, Byrne, Ryan, O'Connor and O'Neill are the top ten in Ireland. Doyle, McCarthy, Gallagher, O'Doherty, Kennedy, Lynch, Murray, Quinn, Moore and McLoughlin round out the top twenty.
What is the difference between O', Mc and Mac in Irish surnames?
O' (Irish Ó) means "descendant of" and Mc or Mac (Irish Mac) means "son of". Mc is simply an abbreviation of Mac, not a separate Irish or Scottish marker; both spellings appear in Ireland, and the same family can use either.
Why do some Irish surnames have no O' or Mc?
Under English rule many families dropped the prefix, turning Ó Murchú into Murphy and Ó Ceallaigh into Kelly; some restored it during the Gaelic revival around 1900, which is why O'Sullivan regained its O' while Murphy did not. Others are Norman (Burke, Power) or occupational (Ward from Mac an Bhaird, "son of the bard").
Can I use the Gaelic spellings for a fantasy character?
Yes. Forms like Ó Flaithbheartaigh, Mac Giolla Phádraig and Ní Dhomhnaill carry a medieval, Celtic feel and pair well with older given names such as Gráinne, Fionn or Oisín. Check the pronunciation (bh and mh sound like v or w, dh and gh are soft) so it reads the way you intend.
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All 500 Irish last names
A: 1 name
- Ahern
B: 19 names
- Barry
- Behan
- Bergin
- Blake
- Boland
- Bowe
- Boyle
- Bracken
- Brady
- Breathnach
- Brennan
- Broderick
- Brogan
- Brosnan
- Browne
- Buckley
- Burns
- Butler
- Byrne
C: 37 names
- Callaghan
- Callan
- Campion
- Canavan
- Carmody
- Carolan
- Carrigan
- Carroll
- Carty
- Cassidy
- Cawley
- Clarke
- Cloney
- Coffey
- Coleman
- Comerford
- Concannon
- Condon
- Conlon
- Conneely
- Connolly
- Conroy
- Conway
- Corcoran
- Corkery
- Corrigan
- Cosgrave
- Cotter
- Coyne
- Creedon
- Crotty
- Crowe
- Crowley
- Culhane
- Curley
- Curran
- Cusack
D: 29 names
- Darcy
- Dargan
- Davitt
- de Barra
- de Búrca
- de Róiste
- Deegan
- Deery
- Delaney
- Dempsey
- Devaney
- Devine
- Dillon
- Dinneen
- Donegan
- Donlon
- Donnelly
- Doran
- Dorgan
- Dowling
- Downey
- Doyle
- Drennan
- Drumm
- Duffy
- Duggan
- Dunne
- Dunphy
- Durkan
E: 2 names
- Egan
- Enright
F: 23 names
- Fagan
- Fahey
- Farrell
- Farrelly
- Faulkner
- Feeney
- Fenlon
- Fennell
- Fennelly
- Ferris
- Finn
- Fitzgibbon
- Fitzharris
- Fitzmaurice
- Fitzsimons
- Flannery
- Flatley
- Flood
- Flynn
- Fogarty
- Forde
- Freeney
- Furlong
G: 26 names
- Gaffney
- Gallagher
- Galligan
- Galvin
- Gavin
- Geary
- Geoghegan
- Geraghty
- Gilhooly
- Gillespie
- Gilligan
- Gilmartin
- Gilmore
- Ging
- Gleeson
- Glennon
- Goggin
- Gorman
- Gormley
- Grace
- Greene
- Grennan
- Griffith
- Guerin
- Guinan
- Guiney
H: 31 names
- Hackett
- Halligan
- Hamill
- Hannigan
- Hannon
- Hanrahan
- Haran
- Hargadon
- Harkin
- Harte
- Hartigan
- Hartnett
- Haugh
- Healy
- Heaney
- Hearne
- Heffernan
- Hennessy
- Herlihy
- Heslin
- Hession
- Hickey
- Higgins
- Hoey
- Hogan
- Holohan
- Horan
- Houlihan
- Hoyne
- Hughes
- Hurley
J: 2 names
- Joyce
- Judge
K: 26 names
- Kane
- Kavanagh
- Keane
- Keaney
- Kearney
- Kearns
- Keating
- Keenan
- Keeney
- Kehoe
- Kelly
- Kenna
- Kennedy
- Kenny
- Keogh
- Keohane
- Kett
- Kiely
- Kiernan
- Kilbride
- Kilcoyne
- Killeen
- Kinahan
- Kinsella
- Kirby
- Kirwan
L: 26 names
- Lacey
- Laffan
- Lalor
- Lambe
- Lanigan
- Lavin
- Lawlor
- Leahy
- Leavy
- Lenihan
- Leonard
- Lillis
- Linehan
- Liston
- Logue
- Lohan
- Lonergan
- Looney
- Loughnane
- Loughrey
- Lowry
- Lucey
- Lydon
- Lynch
- Lynskey
- Lyons
M: 105 names
- Mac Amhlaoibh
- Mac Aonghusa
- Mac Cába
- Mac Cana
- Mac Cárthaigh
- Mac Con Raoi
- Mac Conmara
- Mac Cormaic
- Mac Cuarta
- Mac Diarmada
- Mac Dónaill
- Mac Eochaidh
- Mac Eoin
- Mac Fhlannchadha
- Mac Gabhann
- Mac Gearailt
- Mac Giolla Bhríde
- Mac Giolla Easpaig
- Mac Lochlainn
- Mac Suibhne
- Mac Uidhir
- MacNeill
- MacRedmond
- Madden
- Mag Aoidh
- Mag Fhloinn
- Mag Oireachtaigh
- Magee
- Magennis
- Maguire
- Maher
- Mahon
- Malone
- Mangan
- Mannion
- Markey
- Marnane
- McAleer
- McAnally
- McArdle
- McAteer
- McBride
- McCabe
- McCaffrey
- McCarthy
- McCourt
- McCusker
- McDonagh
- McElligott
- McEntee
- McEvoy
- McGarry
M, continued
- McGee
- McGeough
- McGillicuddy
- McGillion
- McGlynn
- McGonagle
- McGowan
- McGrath
- McGuinness
- McGuire
- McHugh
- McIlroy
- McInerney
- McKenna
- McKiernan
- McLaughlin
- McLoone
- McMahon
- McManus
- McNicholas
- McNulty
- McPartland
- McQuillan
- McRory
- McSweeney
- McTiernan
- McVeigh
- McWilliams
- Meade
- Meagher
- Meaney
- Meehan
- Melia
- Melvin
- Molloy
- Moore
- Moran
- Moriarty
- Morrissey
- Moylan
- Moynihan
- Mulcahy
- Mulcair
- Mulhall
- Mulhern
- Mullane
- Mullarkey
- Mullen
- Mulryan
- Mulvey
- Mulvihill
- Murnane
- Murtagh
N: 21 names
- Neary
- Neville
- Ní Bhriain
- Ní Chatháin
- Ní Cheallaigh
- Ní Chonchobhair
- Ní Dhochartaigh
- Ní Dhomhnaill
- Ní Fhloinn
- Ní Laoghaire
- Ní Mhurchú
- Ní Néill
- Ní Shúilleabháin
- Nic Aodha
- Nic Cárthaigh
- Nic Dhiarmada
- Nic Shuibhne
- Nolan
- Noonan
- Noone
- Nyhan
O: 90 names
- Ó Baoill
- Ó Breasláin
- Ó Briain
- Ó Brosnacháin
- Ó Caoimh
- Ó Caoláin
- Ó Catháin
- Ó Cathasaigh
- Ó Ceallacháin
- Ó Ceallaigh
- Ó Ciaráin
- Ó Coigligh
- Ó Coileáin
- Ó Conchobhair
- Ó Corcráin
- Ó Cróinín
- Ó Cuinn
- Ó Dálaigh
- Ó Diolúin
- Ó Domhnaill
- Ó Donnabháin
- Ó Dubhthaigh
- Ó Duibhir
- Ó Faoláin
- Ó Fearghail
- Ó Fiannachta
- Ó Flaithbheartaigh
- Ó Gallchóir
- Ó Gormáin
- Ó Gormghaile
- Ó Gríofa
- Ó hÉalaithe
- Ó hEidhin
- Ó hIfearnáin
- Ó hUiginn
- Ó Laoghaire
- Ó Lochlainn
- Ó Lorcáin
- Ó Máille
- Ó Mainnín
- Ó Maoilmhichíl
- Ó Maonaigh
- Ó Mathúna
- Ó Móráin
- Ó Muireadhaigh
O, continued
- Ó Murchú
- Ó Néill
- Ó Raghallaigh
- Ó Ríordáin
- Ó Ruairc
- Ó Scolaidhe
- Ó Sé
- Ó Seachnasaigh
- Ó Siadhail
- Ó Súilleabháin
- Ó Tuama
- Ó Tuathail
- O'Beirne
- O'Brady
- O'Callaghan
- O'Connell
- O'Connor
- O'Dea
- O'Doherty
- O'Donoghue
- O'Donovan
- O'Driscoll
- O'Dwyer
- O'Grady
- O'Hagan
- O'Halloran
- O'Hanlon
- O'Hara
- O'Hehir
- O'Higgins
- O'Hora
- O'Kane
- O'Leary
- O'Loughlin
- O'Malley
- O'Mara
- O'Meara
- O'Rahilly
- O'Reilly
- O'Riordan
- O'Rourke
- O'Shaughnessy
- O'Sullivan
- O'Toole
- Oates
P: 3 names
- Power
- Prendergast
- Purcell
Q: 6 names
- Queally
- Quigley
- Quilligan
- Quinlan
- Quinn
- Quirke
R: 13 names
- Rafter
- Reddin
- Redmond
- Reidy
- Renehan
- Roche
- Rogan
- Rooney
- Roughan
- Rowan
- Ruane
- Ruttledge
- Ryan
S: 20 names
- Scanlon
- Seoighe
- Sexton
- Shanahan
- Shannon
- Sharkey
- Sheedy
- Sheehan
- Sheerin
- Shelly
- Sherlock
- Shiel
- Shortall
- Slattery
- Slevin
- Somers
- Spillane
- Sugrue
- Sullivan
- Swords
T: 16 names
- Tangney
- Tansey
- Tarpey
- Teahan
- Teeling
- Tierney
- Timoney
- Tobin
- Toner
- Tracey
- Traynor
- Treacy
- Tully
- Tuohy
- Twomey
- Tyrrell