Kavanagh (surname)

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]

Kavanagh
Caomhánach
Kavanagh arms
Parent houseUí Ceinnselaig of Laigin
CountryIreland
FounderDomhnall Caomhánach
King of Leinster (1171–1175)
Final rulerDomhnall Spainneach
King of Leinster (1595–1632)
TitlesKing of Leinster

"Ach" is a suffix meaning "related to, having, characterised by, prone to" or "person or thing connected or involved with, belonging to, having". [5] Caomhánach means relating to or belonging to Caomhán. The first Kavanagh (Domhnall Caomhánach) was fostered by the coarb at St. Caomhan's abbey.[6][7] 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
Main article: Caomhánach

"Kavanagh" and "Kavanaugh" are anglicised variations of the Irish surname Caomhánach (Cʌoṁʌ̃nʌċ in traditional Gaelic script).[8] The surname was first assumed by Domhnall Caomhánach (the eldest son of the 12th-century king of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada) in Ireland.[9] A considerable number of anglicised variations of Caomhánach exist, with some of the most common being: "Kavanagh", "Cavanagh", "Kavanaugh" and "Cavanaugh".[10]

Later descendants have sometimes added an O or Mac to the name in error,[2] likely in an ill-informed attempt to de-anglicise the name.[11][12] The addition of the O and Mac appeared to change more frequently in families who had emigrated [13] 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".[14]

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.

Notable people surnamed Kavanagh or Kavanaugh

Fictional characters

See also

References
  1. Muhr, Kay; hAisibéil, Liam Ó (19 October 2021). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names of Ireland. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-252478-2.
  2. MacLysaght, Edward (1 December 1988). The Surnames of Ireland: 6th Edition. Irish Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-911024-64-4.
  3. O'Laughlin, Michael C. (1992). The Book of Irish Families, Great & Small. Irish Genealogical Foundation. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-940134-09-6.
  4. O'Donovan, J. (1856). Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters, from the Earliest Times to the Year 1616.
  5. "-ach", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 17 March 2023, retrieved 12 September 2023
  6. 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. doi:10.2307/4050459. ISSN 0095-1390.
  7. Ulster Journal of Archaeology. Ulster Archaeological Society. 1858.
  8. Clann Chaomhánach. "What is Clann Chaomhánach". Retrieved 19 December 2007.
  9. Irish Pedigrees: Or, The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation by John O'Hart – Published 1892, Volume 1, Page 493
  10. James J. Kavanagh – Clann Genealogist. "Interpreting the Irish Name "Caomhánach"". Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  11. MacLysaght, Edward (1 December 1988). The Surnames of Ireland: 6th Edition. Irish Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-911024-64-4.
  12. MacLysaght, Edward (1 December 1988). The Surnames of Ireland: 6th Edition. Irish Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-911024-64-4.
  13. "A dozen things you might not know about Irish names". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  14. "Kavanagh Surname Meaning, History & Origin". Select Surnames. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
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