Gaelic sept

Harnett

Ó hAirtnéada

Also: Hartnett, Harnedy, O'Hartnedy, O'Harniady

“descendant of Airtnéada, 'battle-bear' or 'battle-stone' — a meaning Woulfe reconstructs rather than finds written”

🏔 Limerick · Luimneach 🏔 Kerry · Ciarraí 🏔 Cork · Corcaigh 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

Woulfe calls Ó hAirtnéada the name of an old West Munster family, still numerous in Cork, Kerry and Limerick when he wrote in 1923. He records the clerks' attempts at it one after another: O Hartnedy, O Harniady, O Harnett, Harnedy, Hartnett and Harnett, which is why one family can turn up in the records under half a dozen spellings. The meaning is his reconstruction: an ancestor Airtnéada, battle-bear or battle-stone, whose name survives only inside the surname. A reader from the family says Harnett is most common around Abbeyfeale, the market town on the Limerick side of the Kerry border, which sits squarely in the country Woulfe describes. The date given here is the site's usual estimate for an old sept, not a recorded one.

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What the name is made of

Ó hAirtnéada
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
hAirtnéada — 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 Harnett an Irish name?

Harnett 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 →

Where the Harnett country is

County Limerick County Kerry County Cork Cork Limerick Tralee Killarney Cobh Midleton Mallow Bandon 14 castles in Limerick 14 castles in Kerry 37 castles in Cork

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Curtin · Cork, Kerry, Limerick Leahy · Cork, Kerry, Limerick Linehan · Cork, Limerick, Kerry O'Rahilly · Kerry, Cork, Limerick Sheehan · Limerick, Cork, Kerry Shine · Cork, Kerry, Limerick Buckley · Cork, Kerry Carmody · Kerry, Limerick Casey · Cork, Limerick Collins · Cork, Limerick Crean · Kerry, Cork Cronin · Cork, Kerry Culloty · Kerry, Cork Díaz · Cork, Kerry

Quick answers

Is Harnett an Irish name?

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

What does the surname Harnett mean?

Harnett (Irish: Ó hAirtnéada) means “descendant of Airtnéada, 'battle-bear' or 'battle-stone' — a meaning Woulfe reconstructs rather than finds written”. Origin: Gaelic sept.

Where in Ireland is the surname Harnett from?

The historic homeland of the Harnett name is Limerick, Kerry, Cork. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for Harnett?

Ó hAirtnéada. Related spellings: Hartnett, Harnedy, O'Hartnedy, O'Harniady.

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

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

This page exists because Niall Harnett sent the name in through the corrections form.