Home › Irish Surnames › Drew

Irish surname

Drew: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Mac an Druaidh; Ó Drae; Ó Draoi (Norman forms: Drogh, Drú) · 'son of the druid' / 'descendant of the druid' (Gaelic forms); 'son of Drogo' (Norman form)

Woulfe (1923) prints Drew under several separate entries. Gaelic: Mac an Druaidh, 'son of the druid', 'formerly peculiar to Monaghan and Roscommon'; Ó Drae, a rare surname in Kerry and West Limerick, and Ó Draoi, a rare Thomond surname, both 'descendant of the druid' (Woulfe calls Ó Drae 'apparently the same as the Thomond Ó Draoi'). Norman: Drogh, 'son of Drogo', a personal name of Frankish origin 'brought into England by the Normans', an old surname in Westmeath and Offaly. In 1890, 12 Drew birth entries were registered in Ireland.

Shop Drew crest giftsRead the history
Coat of arms associated with the Drew surname
Irish formMac an Druaidh; Ó Drae; Ó Draoi (Norman forms: Drogh, Drú)
Meaning'son of the druid' / 'descendant of the druid' (Gaelic forms); 'son of Drogo' (Norman form)
CountiesMonaghan, Roscommon, Kerry, Limerick
Other spellings9

Origin of the Drew name

Woulfe prints Drew under separate entries. Gaelic: Mac an Druaidh (formerly peculiar to Monaghan and Roscommon), Ó Drae (Kerry, West Limerick), Ó Draoi (Thomond). Norman: Drogh, 'son of Drogo' (a Frankish personal name brought into England by the Normans), an old surname in Westmeath and Offaly; also Drú, 'son of Dru'.[1][2][3][5][6]

  1. 189012 Drew birth entries in Ireland: Leinster 7, Munster 5; Matheson names Louth.[7]

Where in Ireland

Co. MonaghanWoulfe: Mac an Druaidh was 'formerly peculiar to Monaghan and Roscommon'.[1]
Co. RoscommonWoulfe (as above); in Roscommon it is 'incorrectly anglicised Drury'.[1]
Co. KerryWoulfe: Ó Drae is 'a rare surname in Kerry and West Limerick'.[2]
Co. LimerickWoulfe: Ó Drae is a rare surname in 'West Limerick' (and Kerry).[2]
Co. WestmeathWoulfe: Drogh is 'an old surname in Westmeath and Offaly'.[5]
Co. OffalyWoulfe (as above).[5]
Co. LouthMatheson 1890 lists Louth as the place Drew was principally found.[7]

Other spellings

M'Adrwy · M'Edrwe · O Drea · Drea · O Dree · Drogh · Drou · Drough · Drue[1]

The Drew coat of arms

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

Drew crest gifts

Clan Drew Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest St Patrick's Day Classic CapXA10 Classic Cap - Drew Coat Of Arms St Patrick's Day Classic Cap Irish Cap Drew Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest St Patrick's Day Classic Cap$42.45Clan Drew Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest Classic Cap IY45 Drew Coat Of Arms Irish Cap Drew Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest Classic Cap$33.45

Drew surname: questions

What does the surname Drew mean?

Woulfe prints Drew under both Gaelic and Norman entries. The Gaelic ones (Mac an Druaidh, Ó Drae, Ó Draoi) mean 'son of the druid' or 'descendant of the druid'. The Norman ones (Drogh, Drú) mean 'son of Drogo' or 'son of Dru', a Norman form of Drogo.[1][2][3][5][6]

Is Drew an Irish or a Norman name?

Both, according to Woulfe. He describes Drogo as 'a personal name of Frankish origin ... brought into England by the Normans' and Drogh as 'an old surname in Westmeath and Offaly'; he also prints Drew for three rare Gaelic surnames (Mac an Druaidh, Ó Drae, Ó Draoi), of which he calls Ó Drae 'apparently the same as' Ó Draoi. He does not say which applies to any one family today.[5][6][1][2][3]

Where in Ireland is the Drew name found?

Woulfe names Monaghan and Roscommon (Mac an Druaidh), Kerry and West Limerick with the family located for centuries in the parish of Duagh near Listowel (Ó Drae), Thomond (Ó Draoi), and Westmeath and Offaly (Drogh). Matheson's 1890 index names Louth.[1][2][3][5][7]

Is Drew the same as Drury?

Woulfe says Mac an Druaidh is 'incorrectly' anglicised Drury in Roscommon, and prints Drury in brackets under Ó Drae, Ó Draoi and Ó Druaidh. He does not treat Drury as a plain variant.[1][2][3][4]

Sources

  1. Mac an DRUAIDH — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/maca/mac-an-druaidh.php
  2. Ó DRAE — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/od/o-drae.php
  3. Ó DRAOI — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/od/o-draoi.php
  4. Ó DRUAIDH — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/od/o-druaidh.php
  5. DROGH, DROGHA — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/d/drogh-drogha.php
  6. DRÚ — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/d/dru.php
  7. Drew — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/drew.php
  8. Drew — Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1901), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/varieties/list/511.php

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