Gaelic sept

O'Hara

Ó hEaghra

Also: Hara

“descendant of Eaghra of Luighne”

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

The story

Lords of the Ox Mountains country; their poem-book, the Book of O'Hara, preserves the praise-poetry of a Sligo court. Scarlett O'Hara made the name world-famous from a fictional Tara.

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 hEaghra
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
hEaghra — 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 O'Hara an Irish name?

O'Hara 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 — “O'Hara (surname)”

O'Hara is a surname. The death of the eponym – Eaghra Poprigh mac Saorghus, lord of Luighne, in Connaught – is mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters in 926. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Haras were one of the chiefly families of the "race of Luighne" or "Lugh" who came from the tribe of Cianacht who in turn were from the Dumnonii or Laigin who were the third wave of Celts to settle in Ireland during the first century BC.

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

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Adams · Antrim Beattie · Antrim Bell · Antrim Brennan · Sligo Campbell · Antrim Coleman · Sligo Craig · Antrim Ferguson · Antrim Flynn · Antrim Graham · Antrim Healy · Sligo Higgins · Sligo Jenkins · Antrim Johnston · Antrim

Quick answers

Is O'Hara an Irish name?

O'Hara is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here. In Irish the name is Ó hEaghra.

What does the surname O'Hara mean?

O'Hara (Irish: Ó hEaghra) means “descendant of Eaghra of Luighne”. Origin: Gaelic sept.

Where in Ireland is the surname O'Hara from?

The historic homeland of the O'Hara name is Sligo, Antrim. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for O'Hara?

Ó hEaghra. Related spellings: Hara.

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

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