Kavanagh (surname) explained

Surname:Kavanagh
Caomhánach
Parent House:Uí Ceinnselaig of Laigin
Country:Ireland
Titles:King of Leinster
Founder:Domhnall Caomhánach
King of Leinster (1171–1175)
Final Ruler:Domhnall Spainneach
King of Leinster (1595–1632)

Kavanagh or Kavanaugh is a surname of Irish origin, Caomhánach in Irish. It is one of the few Irish surnames that does not traditionally have an O or a Mac in either English or Irish (as it was is an adjectival or descriptive surname).[1] [2] [3] [4]

"Ach" is a suffix meaning "related to, having, characterised by, prone to" or "person or thing connected or involved with, belonging to, having". Caomhánach means relating to or belonging to Caomhán. The first Kavanagh (Domhnall Caomhánach) was fostered by the coarb at St. Caomhan's abbey.[5] [6] The meaning "

It is also known as Mac Murchadha Caomhánach (an example of an Irish agnomen; see Ó Catharnaigh Sionnach or Fox of Fir Teathbha), but is often now rendered Caomhánach'. Rarely it is referred to as 'Ó Caomhánaigh' or 'Ní Caomhánaigh'.

Origin and history

See main article: Caomhánach. "Kavanagh" and "Kavanaugh" are anglicised variations of the Irish surname Caomhánach (Cʌoṁʌ̃nʌċ in traditional Gaelic script).[7] The surname was first assumed by Domhnall Caomhánach (the eldest son of the 12th-century king of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada) in Ireland.[8] A considerable number of anglicised variations of Caomhánach exist, with some of the most common being: "Kavanagh", "Cavanagh", "Kavanaugh" and "Cavanaugh".[9]

Later descendants have sometimes added an O or Mac to the name in error, likely in an ill-informed attempt to de-anglicise the name.[10] [11] The addition of the O and Mac appeared to change more frequently in families who had emigrated [12] Griffith's survey noted the following between in Ireland between (1842–1854): Kavanagh (2,038), Cavanagh (434), Cavenagh (11) Kavenagh (4) O' Kavanagh (3).

The inclusion of a letter "u" in the name appears to have originated in the U.S. e.g. "Cavanaugh" and "Kavanaugh".[13]

The surname was possibly adopted by Síl Fáelchán clansmen in preference to the earlier name MacMurrough, given the prestige associated with the dynamic junior line that seized the chiefship of the Uí Cheinnselaig tribal group in the High Middle Ages.

According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the Kavanaghs were one of the chiefly families of the Uí Ceinnselaig who in turn were a tribe from the Dumnonii or Laigin who were the third wave of Celts to settle in Ireland during the first century BC.[14] The Kavanaghs as one of the chiefly families of the Uí Ceinnselaig is supported by John O'Hart in his 1892 Irish Pedigrees; or, The Origin and Stem of The Irish Nation.[15]

Notable people surnamed Kavanagh or Kavanaugh

Fictional characters

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Muhr . Kay . The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names of Ireland . Ó hAisibéil . Liam . 2021-10-19 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-252478-2 . en.
  2. Book: MacLysaght, Edward . The Surnames of Ireland: 6th Edition . 1988-12-01 . Irish Academic Press . 978-1-911024-64-4 . en.
  3. Book: O'Laughlin, Michael C. . The Book of Irish Families, Great & Small . 1992 . Irish Genealogical Foundation . 978-0-940134-09-6 . 160 . en.
  4. Book: O'Donovan, J. . Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters, from the Earliest Times to the Year 1616 . 1856 . en.
  5. Miller . Kerby A. . 1987 . T.W. Moody and W.E. Vaughan, editors. A New History of Ireland, Volume IV: Eighteenth-Century Ireland 1691–1800. New York: The Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press. 1986. Pp. lxiv, 849. $115.00. . Albion . 19 . 2 . 315–319 . 10.2307/4050459 . 4050459 . 0095-1390.
  6. Book: Ulster Journal of Archaeology . 1858 . Ulster Archaeological Society . en.
  7. Web site: What is Clann Chaomhánach . 19 December 2007 . Clann Chaomhánach . 5 September 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080905145722/http://www.kavanaghfamily.com/clan/clanintro.htm . dead .
  8. Irish Pedigrees: Or, The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation by John O'Hart – Published 1892, Volume 1, Page 493
  9. Web site: Interpreting the Irish Name "Caomhánach" . 4 March 2013 . James J. Kavanagh – Clann Genealogist . 17 May 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120517094912/http://www.kavanaghfamily.com/articles/2002/gjim20020128.htm . dead .
  10. Book: MacLysaght, Edward . The Surnames of Ireland: 6th Edition . 1988-12-01 . Irish Academic Press . 978-1-911024-64-4 . en.
  11. Book: MacLysaght, Edward . The Surnames of Ireland: 6th Edition . 1988-12-01 . Irish Academic Press . 978-1-911024-64-4 . en.
  12. News: A dozen things you might not know about Irish names . 2023-09-12 . The Irish Times . en.
  13. Web site: Kavanagh Surname Meaning, History & Origin . 2023-09-12 . Select Surnames . en-US.
  14. Book: Cairney, C. Thomas . 1989 . Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland . Jefferson, North Carolina, United States, and London . . 78–85 . 0899503624.
  15. Book: O'Hart, John . John O'Hart . 1892 . Irish Pedigrees; or, The Origin and Stem of The Irish Nation . 5th . 1 . . . 692.

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