Gaelic sept

O'Malley

Ó Máille

Also: Malley, Melia

“descendant of Máille — 'noble chief'”

🏔 Mayo · Maigh Eo

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

The story

Terra marique potens, 'powerful by land and sea', runs their motto, and Gráinne Mhaol proved it: pirate queen of Clew Bay, who met Elizabeth I as one sovereign woman to another.

Their world Around 1593 — The Tudor Conquest. Henry VIII takes the title 'King of Ireland' in 1541, and his children finish the work by sword, by plantation, and by the bargain called surrender and regrant.

See them on the atlas ↗

What the name is made of

Ó Máille
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
Máille — 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'Malley an Irish name?

O'Malley 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'Malley (surname)”

O'Malley is an Irish surname. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Malleys were the chiefly family of the Partraige who were a tribe of the Erainn, the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland between about 500 and 100 BC. However, the same historian also stated that another family of O'Malleys were a chiefly family of the Uí Mháine tribe 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

Barrett · Mayo Blake · Mayo Brogan · Mayo Burke · Mayo Carey · Mayo Conneely · Mayo Costello · Mayo Coyne · Mayo Dillon · Mayo Fitzgibbon · Mayo Garvey · Mayo Gill · Mayo Higgins · Mayo Jennings · Mayo

Quick answers

Is O'Malley an Irish name?

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

What does the surname O'Malley mean?

O'Malley (Irish: Ó Máille) means “descendant of Máille — 'noble chief'”. Origin: Gaelic sept.

Where in Ireland is the surname O'Malley from?

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

What is the Irish for O'Malley?

Ó Máille. Related spellings: Malley, Melia.

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

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