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Cén contae?

Which county is my surname from?

Type a surname, in any spelling: O'Brien, OBrien, Brien, McCarthy or MacCarthy. You will see the counties the sources tie the family to.

Carlow Cavan Cork Donegal Dublin Clare Galway Kerry Kildare Kilkenny Laois Leitrim Limerick Longford Louth Mayo Meath Monaghan Offaly Roscommon Sligo Tipperary Waterford Westmeath Wexford Wicklow Antrim Armagh Down Fermanagh Derry / Londonderry Tyrone

Start typing a surname to see its homeland.

Homeland, not where people live now These are the counties where the sources place the family's homeland, usually centuries ago. They are not where people of that name live today, and not proof that your own ancestors came from there. Families moved, and the same surname was often taken by unrelated families in different places.
Quick answers
Does this tell me where my ancestors lived?

Not directly. It shows where the sources place the family's original homeland, often many centuries ago. People moved, and many bearers of a name have no link to that county. Your own family's records are the only way to know where your ancestors lived.

Why does my surname show more than one county?

Where the sources name more than one homeland, all of them are shown. For some names the sources describe separate families of the same name; the surname page says so where they do.

My surname is not here. What now?

The atlas holds the surnames we have written up from a cited source so far. Suggest yours and it goes on the list.

Surnames by county · The surname map · Surnames in Irish · Irish forms in English · All surnames A–Z