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Irish surname

Rice: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Rís; also Ó Maolchraoibhe (a separate East Ulster family) · 'son of Rhys' (a Welsh personal name); separately, Ó Maolchraoibhe, 'descendant of Maolchraoibhe' (chief of Craobh, a place-name)

Woulfe (1923) gives Rice under Rís as 'son of Rhys', a Welsh personal name, and says the Rices 'are of Welsh descent' and settled in Ireland in the 14th or 15th century, especially at Limerick and Dingle. Woulfe also prints Rice among the anglicised forms of a separate East Ulster name, Ó Maolchraoibhe. In 1890, 99 Rice birth entries were registered in Ireland.

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Coat of arms associated with the Rice surname
Irish formRís; also Ó Maolchraoibhe (a separate East Ulster family)
Meaning'son of Rhys' (a Welsh personal name); separately, Ó Maolchraoibhe, 'descendant of Maolchraoibhe' (chief of Craobh, a place-name)
CountiesLimerick, Antrim, Armagh, Louth
Other spellings6

Origin of the Rice name

Woulfe (1) Welsh: 'son of Rhys'; 'of Welsh descent', settled in Ireland in the 14th or 15th century, 'especially at Limerick and Dingle, where they were wealthy merchants'. (2) Ó Maolchraoibhe, an Oriel family later in Clannaboy, followers of the O'Neills; 'generally anglicised Rice' in East Ulster.[1][2]

  1. 1520Walter Ryce is mayor of Limerick (Woulfe).[1]
  2. 1790Thomas Spring Rice is born in Limerick (Webb).[5]
  3. 189099 Rice birth entries in Ireland: Leinster 33, Munster 18, Ulster 48.[3]

Where in Ireland

Co. LimerickWoulfe: the Welsh Rices settled 'especially at Limerick and Dingle'.[1]
Co. AntrimMatheson 1890 lists Antrim first among the places Rice was principally found.[3]
Co. ArmaghMatheson 1890 lists Armagh among the places Rice was principally found.[3]
Co. LouthMatheson 1890 lists Louth among the places Rice was principally found.[3]
Co. DublinMatheson 1890 lists Dublin among the places Rice was principally found.[3]

Notable people named Rice

Thomas Spring Rice, Lord Monteagle1790-1866Born in Limerick; sat for Limerick from 1820; Chancellor of the Exchequer 1835-39; raised to the peerage in 1839.[5]

Other spellings

Rys · Reys · Ryse · Roice · Royce · Ryce[1]

The Rice coat of arms

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

Rice crest gifts

Clan Rice Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest Classic Cap OR98 Rice Coat Of Arms Irish Cap Rice Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest Classic Cap£26.00Clan Rice Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest St Patrick's Day Classic CapWB32 Classic Cap - Rice Coat Of Arms St Patrick's Day Classic Cap Irish Cap Rice Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest St Patrick's Day Classic Cap£33.00

Rice surname: questions

What does the surname Rice mean?

Woulfe gives Rice under Rís as 'son of Rhys', a Welsh personal name. He prints a second origin too: Rice is among the forms of Ó Maolchraoibhe, 'descendant of Maolchraoibhe' (chief of Craobh, a place-name).[1][2]

Is Rice an Irish or a Welsh name?

Woulfe says the Rices 'are of Welsh descent' and settled in Ireland in the 14th or 15th century. He also says that in East Ulster the Gaelic Ó Maolchraoibhe family name is 'generally anglicised Rice'. So the sources give two origins.[1][2]

Where in Ireland is the Rice name found?

Woulfe names Limerick and Dingle for the Welsh Rices and East Ulster for the Ó Maolchraoibhe family. Matheson's 1890 index lists Antrim, Armagh, Louth and Dublin as the places where Rice was principally found; 48 of the 99 entries were in Ulster.[1][2][3]

Who was Thomas Spring Rice?

Webb describes him as a prominent politician born in Limerick on 8 February 1790, who sat for Limerick from 1820, became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1835 and was raised to the peerage as Lord Monteagle in 1839; he died in 1866.[5]

Sources

  1. RÍS — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/r/ris.php
  2. Ó MAOLCHRAOIBHE — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/om/o-maolchraoibhe.php
  3. Rice — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/rice.php
  4. Rice — Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1901), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/varieties/list/1791.php
  5. Rice, Thomas Spring, Lord Monteagle — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/ThomasSpringRiceLordMonteagle.php

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