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Irish surname

Green: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Glas / Uaithne (several) · 'green' (glas, green or grey; uaithne, green)

Woulfe (1923) lists Green as an anglicised or translated form under several separate Irish names, among them Glas, Uaithne, Mac Giolla Ghlais, Mac Glaisín, Ó Fathaigh, Ó hUainidhe and Ó hUaithnín. He also gives de Graoin (de Grene), the name of an English family who settled in Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, etc., and says it can hardly now be distinguished from the many Irish surnames anglicised Green. He gives no single origin for every Green. In 1890 Matheson found Green principally in Dublin, Antrim, Galway, Tipperary and Clare.

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Coat of arms associated with the Green surname
Irish formGlas / Uaithne (several)
Meaning'green' (glas, green or grey; uaithne, green)
CountiesDublin, Antrim, Galway, Tipperary
Other spellings3
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Origin of the Green name

Woulfe: Green is a form under several separate Irish names (Glas, Uaithne, Mac Giolla Ghlais, Mac Glaisín, Ó Fathaigh, Ó hUainidhe, Ó hUaithnín), and also of Norman 'de Grene', 'at the green', an English family settled in Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, etc.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

  1. 1890152 birth entries in Ireland: 105 spelled Green and 47 spelled Greene.[9]

Where in Ireland

Co. DublinMatheson 1890: among counties where Green is principally found.[9]
Co. AntrimMatheson 1890: among counties where Green is principally found.[9]
Co. GalwayMatheson 1890 county; Woulfe: Ó Fathaigh family of Ui Maine, Co. Galway.[9][5]
Co. TipperaryMatheson 1890: among counties where Green is principally found.[9]
Co. ClareMatheson 1890: among counties where Green is principally found.[9]

Other spellings

Greene · Grene · de Grene[9][7][8]

The Green coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the Green 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.

Green surname: questions

Is Green an Irish surname?

Woulfe lists Green as an anglicised or translated form of several Irish names (Glas, Uaithne, Mac Giolla Ghlais, Mac Glaisín, Ó Fathaigh, Ó hUainidhe, Ó hUaithnín), and also gives de Grene, the name of an English family settled in Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, etc.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

What does Green mean in Irish?

Woulfe gives glas as 'green, grey, from the complexion' and uaithne as 'green; a descriptive epithet which supplanted the real surname'.[1][2]

Where in Ireland is the Green name found?

Matheson's 1890 birth index gives Counties in which principally found: Dublin, Antrim, Galway, Tipperary, and Clare.[9]

Is Green the same as Greene?

Matheson counts them together for 1890: 152 entries, 105 spelled Green and 47 spelled Greene. Woulfe notes Ó hUaithnín is now very often anglicised Greene, by translation.[9][8]

Sources

  1. Glas — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/g/glas.php
  2. Uaithne — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/u/uaithne.php
  3. Mac Giolla Ghlais — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/macg/mac-giolla-ghlais.php
  4. Mac Glaisín, Mac Glasáin — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/macg/mac-glaisin-mac-glasain.php
  5. Ó Fathaigh — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/of/o-fathaigh.php
  6. Ó hUainidhe, Ó hUaithne — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/oh/o-huainidhe.php
  7. de Graoin — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/d/de-graoin.php
  8. Ó hUaithnín — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/oh/o-huaithnin.php
  9. Green — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/green.php

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