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Irish surname

Lowry: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Ó Labhradha · 'descendant of Labhraidh' (speaker, spokesman)

Woulfe (1923) gives Lowry, Lowery and Lavery as anglicised forms of Ó Labhradha, 'descendant of Labhraidh' (speaker, spokesman), the name of an ancient family in Co. Down, 'where it is still common'. In 1890 Ireland's birth indexes held 71 Lowry entries including spelling varieties (53 spelled Lowry), principally in Dublin, Antrim and Down.

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Coat of arms associated with the Lowry surname
Irish formÓ Labhradha
Meaning'descendant of Labhraidh' (speaker, spokesman)
CountiesDown, Antrim, Dublin
Other spellings4
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Origin of the Lowry name

Woulfe: Ó Labhradha was the name of an ancient family in Co. Down. Its branches were distinguished by epithets: Ó Labhradha Bán ('White O'Lavery'), Ó Labhradha Ruadh ('Red O'Lavery') and Ó Labhradha Tréan ('Strong O'Lavery'). The Uí Labhradha of Kilkenny and Galway 'are most probably migrants from Ulster'.[1][3][4][5]

  1. 189071 birth entries (53 spelled Lowry); principally Dublin, Antrim and Down.[6][9]

Where in Ireland

Co. DownAncient Ó Labhradha family, 'where it is still common'; a principal Lowry county in 1890.[1][6]
Co. AntrimNamed among the counties where Lowry births were principally found in 1890.[6]
Co. DublinFirst county named for Lowry births in 1890 (Leinster had 21 of 71).[6]

Other spellings

Lowery · Lavery · Lowroo · Loughry[1][2][7]

The Lowry coat of arms

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

Lowry surname: questions

What does the surname Lowry mean?

Woulfe gives Lowry as an anglicised form of Ó Labhradha, 'descendant of Labhraidh', which he glosses as 'speaker, spokesman'.[1]

Is Lowry only an Irish surname?

Woulfe gives Lowry as an English form of the Irish Ó Labhradha, an ancient Co. Down family. The name was also borne by men born in Cumberland: the Dictionary of National Biography includes the engraver Wilson Lowry, 'born at Whitehaven' in 1762, and the mathematician John Lowry, 'a native of Cumberland'. The sources opened do not say where those men's family name came from.[1][11][12]

Are Lowry and Lavery the same name?

Woulfe gives Lowry, Lowery and Lavery as forms of the same Irish name, Ó Labhradha (and its variant Ó Labhraidh), and Matheson recorded Lowry and Lavery being used interchangeably in registration records.[1][2][7][8][10]

Why are some Laverys called Armstrong?

Woulfe says the branch name Ó Labhradha Tréan ('Strong O'Lavery') was sometimes anglicised Armstrong, 'on the erroneous supposition' that it came from tréan, strong, and lám, a hand (or arm).[5]

Sources

  1. Ó Labhradha — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/ol/o-labhradha.php
  2. Ó Labhraidh — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/ol/o-labhraidh.php
  3. Ó Labhradha Bán — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/ol/o-labhradha-ban.php
  4. Ó Labhradha Ruadh — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/ol/o-labhradha-ruadh.php
  5. Ó Labhradha Tréan — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/ol/o-labhradha-trean.php
  6. Lowry — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/lowry.php
  7. Lowry — Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1901), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/varieties/list/1129.php
  8. Lavery — Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1901), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/varieties/list/1071.php
  9. Table Explanation — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/table-explanation.php
  10. Memorandum explanatory of Alphabetical List — Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1901), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/varieties/memorandum.php
  11. Lowry, Wilson — Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (Freeman Marius O'Donoghue), Wikisource. en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/...
  12. Lowry, John — Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (Charles Platts), Wikisource. en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/...

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