Gaelic sept

Gallagher

Ó Gallchobhair

Also: Gallaher, O'Gallagher

“descendant of Gallchobhar, 'foreign help'”

🏔 Donegal · Dún na nGall Source: Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923) ↗

The sept's historic heartland, highlighted. People moved — a name can be found far from home.

The story

Gallchobhar is foreign help, and the family traced their descent from Maolchobha, a 7th-century king of Ireland. They were marshals of O'Donnell's forces, and Woulfe has them taking a prominent part in every military movement of Cinel Conaill from the 14th century onward; a great many of them were Bishops of Raphoe and Derry besides. The name survives in more than thirty anglicised spellings (Gallacher, Gallaher, Gollaher, Galliher among them) and it is still the commonest surname in Donegal by a distance.

Their world Around 1500 — The Kildare Ascendancy. The English crown is too poor to govern Ireland directly, so it governs through the greatest of the Geraldines instead.

See them on the atlas ↗

What the name is made of

Ó Gallchobhair
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
Gallchobhair — the ancestor, trade or place the name is built on

Find this form in the Irish-to-English index → · What Ó and Mac actually mean

Is Gallagher an Irish name?

Gallagher is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here.

The five answers, and why it is rarely yes or no →

From Wikipedia — “Gallagher (surname)”

Gallagher is an Irish surname. It originates from the Irish noble Gallagher family of County Donegal, Ireland, meaning “descendant of the foreign helper”. The name Gallagher is an anglicization of the Irish surname Ó Gallchobhair, Ó Gallchobhoir, these being masculine forms; the corresponding feminine forms are Ní Ghallchobhair. At least 30 recorded alternate variants exist, including O'Gallagher, Gallacher, Gallager, Gallaher, Gallocher, Galliher, Gollaher, Gollihar and Gallahue.

Read the full article ↗ · Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Boyle · Donegal Breslin · Donegal Brogan · Donegal Cannon · Donegal Clarke · Donegal Curran · Donegal Doherty · Donegal Duffy · Donegal Gill · Donegal Magee · Donegal McBride · Donegal McFadden · Donegal McLoughlin · Donegal McNelis · Donegal

Quick answers

Is Gallagher an Irish name?

Gallagher is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here. In Irish the name is Ó Gallchobhair.

What does the surname Gallagher mean?

Gallagher (Irish: Ó Gallchobhair) means “descendant of Gallchobhar, 'foreign help'”. Origin: Gaelic sept.

Where in Ireland is the surname Gallagher from?

The historic homeland of the Gallagher name is Donegal. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for Gallagher?

Ó Gallchobhair. Related spellings: Gallaher, O'Gallagher.

Looking for the Gallagher family crest? Read this first — arms belong to people, not surnames, and the honest version is more interesting. Tracing Gallagher ancestors? The step-by-step guide.

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