The earliest known Irish surname is O'Clery (O Cleirigh); it's the earliest known because it was written that the lord of Aidhne, Tigherneach Ua Cleirigh, died in County Galway back in the year 916 A.D. In fact, that Irish name may actually be the earliest surname recorded in all of Europe.
The oldest surname in the world is KATZ (the initials of the two words — Kohen Tsedek). Every Katz is a priest, descending in an unbroken line from Aaron the brother of Moses, 1300 B.C. According to Michael O'Hair, 1749–1813; soldier of the revolution, the oldest surname is O'Brien.
They used to live mostly in caravans or mobile homes in which they travelled all over the country or into England. They have Irish surnames – Ward, Connors, Carty, O'Brien, Cash, Coffey, Furey, MacDonagh, Mohan.
81.6% of people from the Gypsy or Irish Traveller ethnic group were born in England, and 6.1% in the other countries of the UK. 3.0% were born in Ireland and 8.3% were born somewhere else in Europe (other than the UK and Ireland). Less than 1.0% of Gypsy or Irish Traveller people were born outside of Europe.
Irish Travellers are sometimes mistakenly called gypsies. They have no genetic relation with the Roma people. In Ireland Travellers were also commonly known as tinkers, derived from the sound their tools made hitting metal when many Travellers worked as tinsmiths.
O'Cleary or O'Clery (Irish: Ó Cléirigh) is the surname of a learned Gaelic Irish family. It is the oldest recorded surname in Europe — dating back to 916 CE — and is cognate with cleric and clerk. The O'Clearys are a sept of the Uí Fiachrach dynasty, who ruled the Kingdom of Connacht for nearly two millennia.
The longest family tree in the world is that of the Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius (551–479 BC), who is descended from King Tang (1675–1646 BC).
Believe it or not, the oldest recorded English name is Hatt. An Anglo-Saxon family with the surname Hatt are mentioned in a Norman transcript, and is identified as a pretty regular name in the county. It related simply to a hat maker and so was an occupational name.
New research shows that the Irish definitely have their fair share of Viking heritage–in fact, the Irish are more genetically diverse than most people may assume. The Irish have Viking and Norman ancestry in similar proportions to the English.
The earliest known Irish surname is O'Clery (O Cleirigh); it's the earliest known because it was written that the lord of Aidhne, Tigherneach Ua Cleirigh, died in County Galway back in the year 916 A.D. In fact, that Irish name may actually be the earliest surname recorded in all of Europe.
Other Irish surnames that have similar roots in a given Norse name include: Arthur, O'Beirne, McBirney, Bligh, Boland, Broder, Broderick, O'Gohery/ Godfrey, Harold, O'Henrick, O'Hever, Reynolds, Sugrue, Sweetman, Toner, Tormey and many more.
O'Sullivan (ó Súilleabháin)
O'Sullivan has to be the most Irish name ever. Also known as simply Sullivan, is an Irish Gaelic clan-based most prominently in what is today County Cork and County Kerry. The name means “dark-eyed”.
Jack retains top spot for the boys while Fiadh claims first place for the girls in 2021. The most popular name in 2021 for newborn boys in Ireland was Jack and for girls it was Fiadh.
Impressively, Coughlan is the longest established surname in Ireland. It has tonnes of variable spellings such as Cohalan or Coghlan. Originally there were two families with this name – first, MacCochlain of County Offaly and later O'Cochlain from Cork.
The Danish monarchy has existed for more than 1000 years and is among the oldest royal houses in the world.
In 2005, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized the Confucius genealogical line as the longest family tree in history, with 86 recorded generations over 2,500 years. The Chinese philosopher (551 to 479 BCE) is thought to have 3 million descendants all over the world [source: Zhou].
Analyzing ancient DNA from a Neolithic tomb in Britain, an international team of geneticists and archeologists have mapped out the family tree of a group of 27 close biological relatives who lived around 3700 BC.
Jesus is sometimes referred to as Jesus Christ, and some people assume that Christ is Jesus' last name. But Christ is actually a title, not a last name. So if Christ isn't a last name, what was Jesus' last name? The answer is Jesus didn't have a formal last name or surname like we do today.
Kushim – The Earliest Recorded Name
The earliest recorded surname on record belongs to an ancient Babylonian accountant named Kushim. Historians estimate that Kushim lived sometime between 3400-3000 BCE and worked as an accountant for the city of Uruk during this time period.
The term “black Irish” refers to persons of Irish descent who are supposed to be descendants of the Spanish Armada, which sailed around the middle of the 15th century, and had dark hair and or eyes. The term is used among people of Irish descent and sometimes confuses people since it doesn't refer to dark skin color.
Irish people are known for pointy and angular features, characterized by strong-looking jaws and chins, deep-set eyes, and pronounced cheekbones. They also tend to have slick oval heads as well as long and tall pointed noses.
Irish Travellers are of Irish ancestral origin and have no particular genetic ties to European Roma groups, a DNA study has found. The research offers the first estimates of when the community split from the settled Irish population, giving a rare glimpse into their history and heritage.