Murphy

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For other uses, see Murphy (disambiguation).

Murphy
Pronunciation/ˈmɜːrfi/
[needs Irish IPA]
Language(s)Irish
Origin
MeaningSea Warrior
Region of originIreland
Other names
Variant form(s)Murchadh, Murphey, MacMurphy, Morphy, O'Morchoe, O'Murphy, Ó Murchú, Murpy, Murphree

Murphy is an Irish surname.

Origins and variants[edit]

The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac Murchaidh"/"Mac Murchadh" (son of "Murchadh")[1] derived from the Irish personal name "Murchadh", which meant sea-warrior or sea-battler[2] (muir meaning sea and cath meaning battle).[3]

According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Murphys were one of the chiefly families of the Uí Ceinnselaig who in turn were a tribe from the the Dumnonii or Laigin who were the third wave of Celts to settle in Ireland during the first century BC.[4] The O'Murphys as one of the chiefly families of the Uí Ceinnselaig is supported by John O'Hart in his 1892 Irish Pedigrees; or, The Origin and Stem of The Irish Nation.[5]

Murchadh is reported to have been gripped with a boiling awful rage, an extreme elevation and greatness of spirit and intellect when he joined the middle of the action and prepared to assail the foreign invaders, the Danes, after they had repulsed the Dal gCais. A gallantry and championship bird rose inside him and fluttered above his head and on his breath.[6]

In modern Irish, "Ó Murchú" or Mac Murchú rather than Mac/Ó Murchadha", is used.

"Murphy" is the most common surname in Ireland, the fourteenth most common surname in Northern Ireland, and the fifty-eighth most common surname in the United States.[7]

People with the surname[edit]

Men[edit]

Women[edit]

Fictional characters[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Brewer, Paul (2002). Ireland: History, People, Culture. Running Press. p. 351. ISBN 0-7624-1269-0.
  2. ^ MacLysaght, Edward (1991). The Surnames of Ireland. Irish Academic Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-7165-2366-6.
  3. ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 352, 406, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
  4. ^ Cairney, C. Thomas (1989). Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States, and London: McFarland & Company. pp. 78–85. ISBN 0899503624.
  5. ^ O'Hart, John (1892). Irish Pedigrees; or, The Origin and Stem of The Irish Nation. Vol. 1 (5th ed.). 14 and 15 Wellington Quay, Dublin; 28 Orchard Street, London; 14 Great Clyde Street, Glasgow; 36 & 38 Barclay Street, New York City: James Duffy, Burns & Oates, Hugh Margey, Benziger Brothers. p. 692-707.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. ^ Hennessey, W. M. (28 September 2020). The Ancient Irish Goddess of War. Library of Alexandria. p. 307. ISBN 978-1-6131-0276-3.
  7. ^ "Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000". Census.gov. Archived from the original on 21 December 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
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