Irish formde Nais; de Nás
MeaningMiddle English 'atten Ash' / 'atte Nash', i.e. 'at the ash', from residence beside an ash-tree (de Nais); or Norman 'de Naas', 'of Naas in Co. Kildare' (de Nás)
CountiesLimerick, Kerry
Other spellings3
Origin of the Nash name
Woulfe: de Nais is Middle English 'atten Ash,' 'atte Nash,' 'i.e., at the ash'; the name 'appears in Ireland soon after the Anglo-Norman invasion' and is 'now fairly common in Limerick and Kerry'. He separately gives de Nás as Norman 'de Naas', 'a surname taken by an early Anglo-Norman family from their place of settlement', now absorbed by de Nais.[1][2]
- 189021 Nash birth entries including spelling varieties (20 spelled Nash); principally Kerry and Limerick.[3]
Nash surname: questions
Is Nash an Irish surname?
Woulfe lists it as a name that appears in Ireland soon after the Anglo-Norman invasion, from Middle English 'atten Ash' or Norman 'de Naas'. He gives no Gaelic form.[1][2]
What does Nash mean?
Woulfe gives Middle English 'atten Ash' or 'atte Nash', 'i.e., at the ash', from residence beside an ash-tree; the n of the article became the initial of the surname.[1]
Where in Ireland is Nash found?
Woulfe says it is now fairly common in Limerick and Kerry. In 1890 Matheson found Nash principally in Kerry and Limerick.[1][3]
Is Nash connected to Naas?
Woulfe gives a separate form, Norman 'de Naas', 'of Naas in Co. Kildare', taken by an early Anglo-Norman family from their place of settlement and now confused with and absorbed by de Nais.[2]