Irish Last Names Beginning With B (With Meanings)

Are you interested in learning the origin and meaning of an Irish last name that begins with B?

Here are the meanings of many Irish surnames that had birth registrations in early 20th century Ireland and also appear in the 2010 American census.

We also explain the Norman and British influences on these names over centuries.

Most Common Irish Last Names Beginning With B

Let’s start with Irish names that had at least a thousand births in Ireland between 1923 and 1932.

We’ve squeezed “Brown” in at the bottom as a variant of Browne. This is one of those names that have different origins depending on the region. Many American bearers will be of English or other European descent, which we’ll explain later.

Last Name	Irish births 1923-32	U.S. Census 2010
Byrne	7,229	29,503
Burke	3,365	122,877
Brennan	3,343	49,238
Brady	2,160	73,145
Barry	1,812	47,274
Buckley	1,809	41,348
Boyle	1,643	39,921
Butler	1,588	218,847
Browne	1,464	22,289
Brown	946	1,437,026

Why take Irish birth registrations from 1923 to 1932?

The second column is the number of Irish birth registrations over ten years starting in 1923.

The reason I chose that start date was that the Republic of Ireland was established the previous year. Starting in 1923 excluded birth locations in Northern Ireland.

Otherwise, the number of English and Scottish names would take longer to filter out of this list.

Origins And Meanings Of Irish Surnames Starting With B

Let’s run through the origins and meanings of these top names.

If you would like to hear pronunciations of the Gaelic names mentioned below, they are in this quick video in the order of where they appear in this article.

Byrne

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Broin. I explain “Anglicization” more fully in a later section.

Here, I’ll simply say that it’s a way of taking an old Gaelic surname and turning it into a name that sounds or seems English.

The “Ó” in Ó Broin means “descendant of”, so this name means the descendant of Bran.

But who was Bran? He was the son of a powerful King of Leinster in the early 11^th century. Bran took his name from the Irish word for a raven.

His father, Mael Morda, led the losing side at the Battle of Clontarf. When he was killed, Bran was recognized as the new King of Leinster.

But when an enemy blinded Bran four years later, the old laws meant that he had to relinquish the crown.

The descendants who took his name would become some of the strongest families in the land. You can read more in a history of the O’Byrne clan.

Burke

After William the Conqueror led the Norman Conquest of Britain, the Anglo-Normans spread to Ireland from 1169.

They introduced Norman names to the island that we now consider being very Irish. Burke is one such name.

The meaning comes from how the Normans pronounced the Old English word burg. The word means a fortification or castle.

Brennan

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic names Mac Branáin or Ó Branáin. “Mac” means son and “Ó” means a descendant.

We’ve encountered a form of the Irish word already. Branán is a pet name or diminutive of Bran, which we said means a raven. So, Branan refers to a little raven.

Brady

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic names Ó Brádaigh or Mac Brádaigh, the descendant or son of Brádach.

The meaning comes from the Irish word for someone who is highly spirited.

Barry

This name has different origins depending on the region. Some American bearers will descend from English or other European ancestors.

The Irish name is the Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Beargha, or descendant of Beargha.

“Beargha” means “like a spear”.

Buckley

The Irish name is an Anglicized version of the Gaelic name Ó Buachalla, or descendant of Ó Buachaill.

The word “buachaill” means “boy” and would have referred to a serving boy.

Boyle

This is the Anglicized version of the Gaelic name Ó Baoighill, or descendant of Baoighill.

The meaning may refer to a promise or pledge (gheall). The early families were strong in Donegal. Later, the name would spread across the island.

Butler

You’d be right if you’re thinking that the earliest origins of this name are English.

It came to Ireland after the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169. King Henry II appointed Theobald Fitzwater as the Chief Butler of Ireland.

His descendants took the name of Butler, and also the Gaelicized form of de Buitléir.

Browne and Brown

Brown is now one of the most common names in America. There is no single origin, as so many regions have their version of this nickname for someone of brown hair.

The Irish version is an Anglicized translation of the Gaelic name Ó’Duinn. This comes from the Irish word for brown (donn).

The nearest phonetic (sounding) name for the Gaelic name is Dunne.

More About The Anglicization Of Irish Surnames

You’ll find it easier to understand how Irish families changed their names with a bit more background.

The use of surnames in Ireland dates back to the tenth century. Children adopted the first name of their father and prefixed it with “Mac” or “O”, which means “son” and “descendent of”.

These names were in the Gaelic language.

In later centuries when Ireland was under British rule, the use of the Gaelic language was curbed.

This led to the Irish making their names look and sound more English i.e. Anglicization.

The simplest way was to drop the O and Mac in front of a name.

Another way was to pick the nearest sounding English name.

The third way was to pick an English name that has the same meaning as the Gaelic name. The two names may sound completely different.

Other Irish Last Names From 1923 To 1932

We’ve covered the meanings and origins of the most common names in Ireland through the 1920s.

Now, I’ll list them in order of how frequent they are in the 2010 U.S. census. Remember that many of these names were brought to America from different regions.

Over 100,000 bearers in the U.S. census

We’ve already explained the Irish origins of several of the names in this section.

Last Name	Irish Births 1923-32	US Census 2010
Brown	946	1,437,026
Butler	1,588	218,847
Bryant	26	192,773
Burns	643	165,925
Black	208	154,738
Boyd	242	153,469
Bradley	531	136,720
Berry	178	132,812
Burke	3,365	122,877
Bishop	86	116,618

Over fifty thousand bearers in the census

Last Name	Irish Births 1923-32	US Census 2010
Byrd	10	92,904
Bowen	103	78,822
Blair	42	78,026
Blake	454	73,797
Brady	2,160	73,145
Buchanan	63	66,648
Brock	18	61,369
Burnett	17	60,791
Bryan	150	57,143

Over twenty thousand bearers in the 2010 census

Last Name	Irish Births 1923-32	US Census 2010
Booth	80	49,402
Brennan	3,343	49,238
Barry	1,812	47,274
Buckley	1,809	41,348
Boyle	1,643	39,921
Best	42	37,923
Bray	141	34,906
Baird	49	34,721
Bird	120	33,457
Byrne	7,229	29,503
Boyce	227	26,376
Brandon	22	26,284
Bingham	25	25,941
Bowden	72	24,560
Browne	1,464	22,289

Over ten thousand bearers

Last Name	Irish Births 1923-32	US Census 2010
Bryson	10	18,486
Bain	1	17,371
Brannon	2	16,136
Burk	11	15,500
Boles	41	14,946
Breen	809	14,170
Braden	1	13,603
Bowie	12	11,786
Boland	629	11,631
Boyles	1	11,156
Byrnes	162	11,039
Broderick	399	10,504

Over five thousand bearers

Last Name	Irish Births 1923-32	US Census 2010
Bohannon	4	9,663
Bowens	15	9,188
Begley	249	8,435
Bracken	276	8,265
Bogan	16	8,034
Brogan	225	7,754
Brannan	1	7,452
Baskin	11	7,389
Bowe	177	6,628
Brodie	7	6,585
Birmingham	132	6,577
Brophy	475	6,557
Boylan	413	6,280
Browder	1	6,249
Bogle	23	5,851
Blood	20	5,770
Brazil	169	5,343

Over one thousand bearers

Last Name	Irish Births 1923-32	US Census 2010
Bowes	73	4,967
Bannon	217	4,921
Breslin	320	4,490
Boden	3	4,445
Bloomer	22	4,231
Brian	12	4,214
Brannen	2	4,101
Bergin	503	3,996
Beery	3	3,421
Behan	461	2,862
Beirne	370	1,642
Baine	2	1,568

Sources

• Irish Civil Birth Registrations
• Irish Names and Surnames by Reverend Patrick Woulfe
• Dictionary of American Family Names by Patrick Hanks