Gaelic learned family

Tully

Mac an Tuile / Ó Maoltuile

Also: MacTully, Flood

“son of the flood — 'of God's will'”

🏔 Cavan · An Cabhán 🏔 Longford · An Longfort 🏔 Galway · Gaillimh

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

The story

Hereditary physicians to O'Connors and O'Reillys; many later translated themselves to 'Flood' — medicine, meaning and metaphor all moving in one name.

Their world Around 1500 — The Kildare Ascendancy. The English crown is too poor to govern Ireland directly, so it governs through the greatest of the Geraldines instead.

See them on the atlas ↗

What the name is made of

Mac an Tuile
Mac — son of (Mc is the same word, contracted)
an Tuile — the ancestor, trade or place the name is built on
Ó Maoltuile
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
Maoltuile — 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 Tully an Irish name?

Tully 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 — “Tully (surname)”

Tully is a surname of Irish origin, with spelling variations that include Tally, Talley, Tilly, MacTully, MacTilly, MacAtilla, O'Multilly, O'Multully, MacCantully, and Flood. These names are anglicisations of the following Irish names: Ó Taithligh, Ó Maoltuile, Mac Maoltuile, Mac Taichligh, and Mac an Tuile. Mac an Tuile is a corruption of Mac Maoltuile, and has also been anglicised as Flood due to "tuile" in Irish meaning "flood".

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

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Clarke · Cavan, Galway Dolan · Galway, Cavan Finnegan · Cavan, Galway Sheridan · Cavan, Longford Adams · Cavan Bermingham · Galway Blake · Galway Bodkin · Galway Brady · Cavan Burke · Galway Cahill · Galway Canavan · Galway Coffey · Longford Comiskey · Cavan

Quick answers

Is Tully an Irish name?

Tully is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here. In Irish the name is Mac an Tuile / Ó Maoltuile.

What does the surname Tully mean?

Tully (Irish: Mac an Tuile / Ó Maoltuile) means “son of the flood — 'of God's will'”. Origin: Gaelic learned family.

Where in Ireland is the surname Tully from?

The historic homeland of the Tully name is Cavan, Longford, Galway. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for Tully?

Mac an Tuile / Ó Maoltuile. Related spellings: MacTully, Flood.

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

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