Home › Irish Surnames › Byrne

Irish surname

Byrne: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Ó Broin · 'descendant of Bran' (raven)

Byrne, or O'Byrne, is from the Irish Ó Broin, 'descendant of Bran' (raven). Woulfe (1923) traces the family to Bran, son of Maolmórdha, King of Leinster, whose death the Four Masters record under 1052. Driven from north Kildare by the Anglo-Normans, the O'Byrnes became powerful in the Wicklow mountains, where Fiagh MacHugh O'Byrne was a chief in the reign of Elizabeth.

Shop Byrne crest giftsRead the history
Coat of arms associated with the Byrne surname
Irish formÓ Broin
Meaning'descendant of Bran' (raven)
CountiesKildare, Wicklow, Dublin, Wexford
Other spellings2

Origin of the Byrne name

Woulfe: named from Bran, son of Maolmórdha, King of Leinster (died at Cologne, 1052). Their first patrimony, Ui Faolain in north Kildare, was lost soon after the Anglo-Norman invasion; they took refuge in the Wicklow mountains, in Crioch-Bhranach. A junior branch, the Gaval-Rannall (Ranelagh), held Ballinacor.[1]

  1. 1052Four Masters record the death at Cologne of Bran, son of Maolmórdha.[1]
  2. 1580Fiagh MacHugh O'Byrne and Lord Baltinglass defeat Lord Grey in Glenmalure.[3]
  3. 1597Fiagh MacHugh O'Byrne killed in a skirmish with the Lord Deputy's forces.[3]
  4. 1798Myles Byrne fights with the Wexford insurgents, including at Vinegar Hill.[4]
  5. 1830Myles Byrne, in French service, appointed Chef-de-Bataillon.[4]

Where in Ireland

Co. KildareOriginal patrimony, Ui Faolain, covered the northern half of the county.[1]
Co. WicklowCrioch-Bhranach: barony of Newcastle and parts of Arklow and Ballinacor.[1]
Co. DublinFirst of the counties where Byrne was principally found in the 1890 birth indexes.[2]
Co. WexfordA principal county in 1890; Myles Byrne of 1798 was born at Monaseed there.[2][4]

Notable people named Byrne

Fiagh MacHugh O'Byrned. 1597Chief of the Gaval-Rannall O'Byrnes at Ballinacor, Glenmalure; Webb calls him one of the most formidable Irish chieftains.[3]
Myles Byrne1780–1862Wexford United Irishman of 1798, later an officer in the French army and the Legion of Honour.[4]

Other spellings

O'Byrne · Byrnes[1]

The Byrne coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the Byrne surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.

Byrne crest gifts

Clan Byrne Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest Classic Cap QB17 Byrne Coat Of Arms Irish Cap Byrne Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest Classic Cap£26.00Clan Byrne Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest St Patrick's Day Classic CapLU91 Classic Cap - Byrne Coat Of Arms St Patrick's Day Classic Cap Irish Cap Byrne Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest St Patrick's Day Classic Cap£33.00

Byrne surname: questions

What does the surname Byrne mean?

Woulfe gives Byrne as a form of Ó Broin, 'descendant of Bran', a personal name he glosses as 'raven'.[1]

Are Byrne and O'Byrne the same name?

Yes. Woulfe lists O'Byrne, Byrne and Byrnes as English forms of Ó Broin. In the 1890 birth indexes Matheson counted 734 Byrne entries but only 8 spelt O'Byrne.[1][2][5]

Where in Ireland is the Byrne name from?

Woulfe says the family first held north Kildare and then the Wicklow mountains, and that the name is now very common in Leinster. In 1890 Byrne was principally found in Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford and Louth, with many also in Carlow, Kildare and Kilkenny.[1][2]

Who was Fiagh MacHugh O'Byrne?

According to Webb, he was chief of the Gaval-Rannall O'Byrnes, lived at Ballinacor in Glenmalure, defeated Lord Grey there in 1580 and was killed in May 1597.[3]

Sources

  1. Ó Broin — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/ob/o-broin.php
  2. Byrne — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), birth indexes of 1890, transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/byrne.php
  3. Fiagh Mac Hugh O'Byrne — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/FiaghMacHughOByrne.php
  4. Myles Byrne — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/MylesByrne.php
  5. O'Byrne — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), birth indexes of 1890, transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/obyrne.php

Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).