Gaelic sept

Hayes

Ó hAodha

Also: O'Hea, Hughes (south)

“descendant of Aodh, 'fire'”

🏔 Cork · Corcaigh 🏔 Limerick · Luimneach 🏔 Tipperary · Tiobraid Árann

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

The story

A dozen unrelated septs all descend from someone called Aodh, fire, anglicised as Hayes in Munster and Hughes in Ulster. One name, many flames.

Their world Around 1450 — 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

Ó hAodha
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
hAodha — 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 Hayes an Irish name?

Hayes 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 — “Hayes (surname)”

Hayes is an English language surname. In the United States Census, 1990, Hayes was the 100th most common surname recorded. The oldest record of the surname dates to 1197 in the Eynsham Cartulary of Oxfordshire, where it appears in the form Heise. There are nineteen coats of arms assumed by or granted to individuals with this or a similar surname. Though primarily a surname, "Hayes" sometimes appears as a given name in census records.

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

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Carew · Cork, Tipperary Casey · Cork, Limerick Coleman · Cork, Tipperary Collins · Cork, Limerick Condon · Cork, Tipperary Donegan · Cork, Tipperary Donovan · Cork, Limerick Hickey · Tipperary, Limerick Hurley · Cork, Limerick Mulcahy · Tipperary, Limerick Noonan · Cork, Limerick O'Brien · Limerick, Tipperary Roche · Cork, Limerick Ryan · Tipperary, Limerick

Quick answers

Is Hayes an Irish name?

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

What does the surname Hayes mean?

Hayes (Irish: Ó hAodha) means “descendant of Aodh, 'fire'”. Origin: Gaelic sept.

Where in Ireland is the surname Hayes from?

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

What is the Irish for Hayes?

Ó hAodha. Related spellings: O'Hea, Hughes (south).

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

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