Norman

Grace

Grás

“le gras — 'the stout'”

🏔 Kilkenny · Cill Chainnigh 🏔 Laois · Laois

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

The story

Descendants of Raymond le Gros himself; the Grace's Country of Kilkenny bred crusaders, sheriffs and W.R. Grace — famine emigrant, twice Mayor of New York, founder of a global shipping line.

Their world Around 1350 — The Gaelic Resurgence. Plague, absentee landlords and Gaelic recovery shrink English Ireland to a fortified strip around Dublin.

See them on the atlas ↗

What the name is made of

Grás
No prefix: the name stands on its own word.

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

Is Grace an Irish name?

Grace came in with the Normans after 1169. That makes it an Irish surname — it has been one for over eight hundred years — but not a Gaelic one.

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

From Wikipedia — “Grace (surname)”

Grace is an English, Scottish or Irish surname. Notable people with the surname include:Alfred Augustus Grace (1867–1942), New Zealand soldier and writer Arthur Grace, American photojournalist and author Billy Grace (1876–1938), Australian rules footballer Bradley Grace, Irish musician Brendan Grace (1951–2019), Irish comedian and singer Briar Grace-Smith, New Zealand screenwriter, director, actor, and short story writer C. L. Grace, a pen name of Paul C.

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

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Brophy · Laois, Kilkenny Delaney · Laois, Kilkenny Fitzpatrick · Laois, Kilkenny Archer · Kilkenny Aylward · Kilkenny Behan · Laois Brennan · Kilkenny Butler · Kilkenny Cantwell · Kilkenny Cody · Kilkenny Comerford · Kilkenny Coogan · Kilkenny Dempsey · Laois Dooley · Laois

Quick answers

Is Grace an Irish name?

Grace came in with the Normans after 1169. That makes it an Irish surname — it has been one for over eight hundred years — but not a Gaelic one. In Irish the name is Grás.

What does the surname Grace mean?

Grace (Irish: Grás) means “le gras — 'the stout'”. Origin: Norman.

Where in Ireland is the surname Grace from?

The historic homeland of the Grace name is Kilkenny, Laois. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for Grace?

Grás.

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

Not your spelling? Try the full A–Z. Know more about the Grace name? Add to the story.