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Irish surname

O'Beirne: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Ó Birn, Ó Beirn · 'descendant of Biorn' (the Norse personal name Bjorn)

Woulfe (1923) gives O'Beirne and Beirne as anglicised forms of Ó Birn (later also Ó Beirn), 'descendant of Biorn', from the Norse personal name Bjorn. He names two Connacht families: stewards to the O'Connor kings who became chiefs of Tir-Bhriuin in Co. Roscommon, and a family with an estate north of Ballinrobe in Co. Mayo. Of the 64 Beirne births registered in Ireland in 1890, 38 were in Roscommon and 13 in Leitrim.

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Coat of arms associated with the O'Beirne surname
Irish formÓ Birn, Ó Beirn
Meaning'descendant of Biorn' (the Norse personal name Bjorn)
CountiesRoscommon, Leitrim, Mayo
Other spellings5
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O'Beirne crest gifts

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Origin of the O'Beirne name

Woulfe names two distinct Connacht families: (1) Ó Birn of Siol-Muireadhaig, stewards to the O'Connors, Kings of Connacht, who about the middle of the 13th century superseded the O'Monaghans as chiefs of Tir-Bhriuin, Co. Roscommon, for more than three hundred years; (2) Ó Birn of Ui Fiachrach, with an estate a little north of Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, at the beginning of the 15th century.[1]

  1. 1133Four Masters: Gilla-na-naemh Ua Birn, 'royal lawgiver of Ireland', died; interred at Ros-Commain.[7]
  2. 13th centuryAbout mid-century the family superseded the O'Monaghans as chiefs of Tir-Bhriuin.[1]
  3. 1311Four Masters: Donnell O'Beirne, Chief of Tir Briuin, died.[8]
  4. 1570Teig Byrne, alias O Byrne, was 'the chiefest of Tirowyne' (Tir-Bhriuin).[1]
  5. 1795Thomas Lewis O'Beirne consecrated Bishop of Ossory; translated to Meath in 1798.[10]
  6. 189064 Beirne entries (38 Roscommon, 13 Leitrim); separately, 10 O'Beirne incl. varieties (9 exact).[4][5][6]

Where in Ireland

Co. RoscommonChiefs of Tir-Bhriuin, Co. Roscommon (Woulfe); 38 Beirne birth entries in Roscommon in 1890.[1][4]
Co. Leitrim13 Beirne birth entries were in Leitrim in the 1890 birth indexes.[4]
Co. MayoÓ Birn of Ui Fiachrach held an estate a little north of Ballinrobe (Woulfe).[1]

Notable people named O'Beirne

Thomas Lewis O'Beirned. 1823Farnagh, Co. Longford, 'about 1748' (DNB; Webb: 1747); trained for the priesthood, adopted protestant views; Bishop of Ossory, then Meath.[10][11]
Ivor O'Beirned. 1271Four Masters: 'chief servant and confidant of Hugh O'Conor'; entered the monastery of Roscommon in 1269; died 1271.[9]

Other spellings

Beirne · O'Bierne · Berne · Birne · Beirnes[1][2]

The O'Beirne coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the O'Beirne 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.

O'Beirne surname: questions

What does the surname O'Beirne mean?

Woulfe gives O'Beirne as a form of Ó Birn, 'descendant of Biorn', which he identifies as the Norse personal name Bjorn.[1]

Is O'Beirne an Irish name?

Yes. Woulfe lists O'Beirne, O'Bierne and Beirne as anglicised forms of the Irish surname Ó Birn (Ó Beirn), borne by two Connacht families, although the personal name behind it is Norse.[1][2]

Where in Ireland is the O'Beirne name from?

Woulfe places one family as chiefs of Tir-Bhriuin in Co. Roscommon and another a little north of Ballinrobe in Co. Mayo. In 1890, 38 of the 64 Beirne births were in Roscommon and 13 in Leitrim.[1][4]

Is O'Beirne the same name as Byrne?

Woulfe gives them as two separate Irish names that can share an English spelling. He lists Byrne among the English forms of Ó Birn, the Connacht name behind O'Beirne, but Byrne is also an English form of Ó Broin, the Leinster family, whose name he says 'is now very common in Leinster'. He adds that O'Beirne and O'Byrne were both used in Lecale, Co. Down, in the early 17th century and he could not say which Irish name they stood for.[1][3]

Sources

  1. Ó Birn — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/ob/o-birn.php
  2. Ó Beirn — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/ob/o-beirn.php
  3. Ó Broin — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/ob/o-broin.php
  4. Beirne — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/beirne.php
  5. O'Beirne — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/obeirne.php
  6. 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
  7. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 1133 (part 24) — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005B/text024.html
  8. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 1311 (part 14) — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005C/text014.html
  9. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 1269–1271 (part 10) — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005C/text010.html
  10. O'Beirne, Thomas Lewis — Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (W. P. Courtney), Wikisource. en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/...
  11. Bishop Thomas Lewis O'Beirne — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/BishopThomasLewisOBeirne.php

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