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Irish surname

Moriarty: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Ó Muircheartaigh · 'descendant of Muircheartach' (sea-director, expert navigator)

Woulfe (1923) gives Moriarty as an anglicised form of Ó Muircheartaigh, 'descendant of Muircheartach' (sea-director, expert navigator), the name of a Kerry family who were anciently chiefs of Aos Aisde, a district lying probably along the river Mang. He says that in Munster the name is always anglicised Moriarty. In 1890, 74 of the 83 Moriarty birth entries in Ireland were in Kerry.

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Coat of arms associated with the Moriarty surname
Irish formÓ Muircheartaigh
Meaning'descendant of Muircheartach' (sea-director, expert navigator)
CountiesKerry
Other spellings3

Origin of the Moriarty name

Woulfe: the name (1) of a Kerry family, anciently chiefs of Aos Aisde, 'a district lying probably along the river Mang'; and (2) of a Meath family 'still numerous in that county and in Monaghan, where it is anglicised Murtagh'. 'In Munster it is always anglicised Moriarty.'[1]

  1. 1583A party of the O'Moriartys 'of the Mang's side' take and behead the Earl of Desmond.[5]
  2. 1690'O MORIARTY' appears in Sir James Terry's list of Irish septs.[4]
  3. 1856David Moriarty succeeds to the see of Kerry.[6]
  4. 189083 Moriarty birth entries in Ireland, 74 of them in Kerry.[2]

Where in Ireland

Co. KerryChiefs of Aos Aisde, probably along the river Mang; 74 of 83 Moriarty entries in 1890.[1][2]

Notable people named Moriarty

David Moriartyd. 1877Bishop of Kerry from 1856; born 1814 (DNB) or 1812 (Catholic Encyclopedia); earlier rector of All Hallows, Dublin.[6][7]

Other spellings

O'Moriarty · O Morierty · Morey[5][4]

The Moriarty coat of arms

'O MORIARTY' is printed in the 'List of Names of Irish Septs as given in the Book of Arms, compiled by Sir James Terry, Athlone Herald (1690)', as reproduced by Matheson. The list gives sept names only; it does not describe any arms, and it does not mean that everyone named Moriarty is entitled to a coat of arms.[4]

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

Moriarty crest gifts

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Moriarty surname: questions

What does the surname Moriarty mean?

Woulfe gives Moriarty as a form of Ó Muircheartaigh, 'descendant of Muircheartach', which he glosses as 'sea-director, expert navigator'.[1]

Where in Ireland is the Moriarty name from?

Woulfe says the Kerry family were anciently chiefs of Aos Aisde, a district lying probably along the river Mang. In 1890, 74 of the 83 Moriarty birth entries in Ireland were in Kerry.[1][2]

Is Moriarty the same name as Murtagh?

Both come from Ó Muircheartaigh. Woulfe gives it as the name of a Kerry family and of a Meath family 'still numerous in that county and in Monaghan, where it is anglicised Murtagh'; 'in Munster it is always anglicised Moriarty'.[1]

What did the O'Moriartys have to do with the Earl of Desmond?

The Annals of the Four Masters (1583) say a party of the O'Moriartys of the Mang's side found the Earl of Desmond hiding in a hut in Gleann-an-Ghinntigh, took him prisoner and beheaded him.[5]

Sources

  1. Ó Muircheartaigh — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/om/o-muircheartaigh.php
  2. Moriarty — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/moriarty.php
  3. Moriarty — Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1901), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/varieties/list/1553.php
  4. List of Names of Irish Septs (Terry, 1690) — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/irish-septs.php
  5. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 1583 (part 9) — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005E/text009.html
  6. Moriarty, David — Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (Thompson Cooper), Wikisource. en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/...
  7. David Moriarty — Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) (Patrick A. Beecher), Wikisource. en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/David_Moriarty

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