Irish Last Names Beginning With G (With Meanings)

Are you interested in the origins and meaning of an Irish last name that begins with G?

This article lists over one hundred Irish surnames that had birth registrations in early 20th century Ireland and also appear in the 2010 American census.

We’ll also give the origins and meanings of the most popular names.

Most Common Irish Surnames Starting With G

Let’s start with some of the most common names in Ireland between 1923-32 that also had at least ten thousand bearers in the 2010 U.S. census.

Last NameIrish Births 1923-332010 U.S. Census
Gallagher3,58669,834
Griffin1,688198,406
Gorman95131,788
Galvin80611,882
Greene719126,101
Gaffney70612,805
Gannon66714,981
Gibbons61529,824
Gavin51014,061
Gill49674,948
Grady46326,103
Garvey45811,307

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 G

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

I’ve put them in alphabetical order here.

Gaffney

This is a name that has two different origins in Ireland.

One version is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Gamhna, or “descendant of Gamhain”. The meaning comes from the Irish word for a calf (gamhain).

The other origin is the Gaelic name Mac Fhactna, or “son of Fachtna”. There are several theories as to the origins of Fachtna.

Woulfe’s “Irish Names and Surnames” points to several Irish saints of this name. The most well-known was an Abbot of a monastery in Cork in the sixth century and established a school there.

bishop

Gallagher

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Gallchobhair or descendant of Gallchobhar. The meaning comes from the Irish words for foreigner (gall) and help (camhair).

One medieval manuscript mentions an abbot of the name in Donegal who died in 1022 AD.

The Gallaghers have a long history in Ireland as a powerful clan in Donegal and beyond.

Galvin

This is the English form of the Gaelic name Ó Gealbháin. The meaning comes from the words for bright (geal) and white (bán).

Historically, they were a clan of the Dalcassians who were powerful families in Munster.

Gannon

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Mac Fhionnáin, or “son of Fionnáin”.

The meaning comes from the Gaelic word fionn which means fair-haired.

Garvey

This name comes from the Gaelic Ó Gairbhshíth.

The meaning comes from the Irish words for rough (garbh) and peace (síth).

Gavin

This is the English form of the Gaelic name Ó Gábháin.

The meaning comes from the Irish word for danger.

Gibbon

In Ireland, this is a shortened variant of the name Fitzgibbon.

Fitzgibbon has what’s known as Anglo-Norman origins. The “Fitz” is the give-away. But who were the Anglo-Normans?

After William the Conqueror led the Norman Conquest of Britain, the Normans who settled in England (the Anglo-Normans) then spread through Ireland.

The Anglo-Norman leader, Strongbow, sent a small band of knights to invade southern Ireland in 1169. The name Fitzgibbon appears in County Mayo shortly afterward.

“Fitz” means “son of” or “descendant of”, so the name Fitzgibbon means “son of Gibbon”.

Norman knight

Gill

This name has different origins and meanings depending on the region.

The Irish name comes from the Gaelic Mac Giolla, or “son of Gill”.

The meaning comes from the Irish word for a young male servant (giolla).

Gorman

This is the English form of the Gaelic names Ó Gormáin or Mac Gormáin.

The meaning comes from the Irish word for dark blue (gorm).

The clans of this name have a long history, especially in Munster. One branch became marshalls to the O’Briens in the 13th century and received lands in County Clare.

The O’Briens had a long line of kings of Thomond in Munster.

Grady

This is a variant of O’Grady which comes from the Gaelic Ó’Gradaigh or Ó’Gráda.

The meaning comes from the Irish word for noble.

The Ó’Gráda or O’Grady families have a long history in Ireland. Donogh O’Grady was knighted by King Henry VIII in 1543 which ensured that the clan held their lands.

Greene and Green

This is another name with different origins depending on the European region. But the English and Irish names have a similar meaning.

The Irish form comes from the Gaelic name Ó hUainín, or descendant of Uainín. The meaning comes from the Irish word for the color green (uaine).

Griffin

Griffin is a name with different meanings and origins depending on the region. The Welsh version has different origins to the Irish version.

The Irish name comes from the Gaelic Ó Gríobhtha, or descendant of Gríobhtha. This translates from the Irish word gríobh, which refers to a mythical creature constructed from two animals i.e. a gryphon.

Some Background To The Anglicization Of Irish Surnames

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

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 gone in detail into the meanings and origins of the most common Irish names starting with G.

Here is a summary of the rest of the names ordered by the numbers in the 2010 U.S. census.

Above 5,000 bearers

I’ve removed the names we covered in detail earlier in this article.

Last NameIrish Births 1923-332010 U.S. Census
Grant519142,277
Glenn2551,043
Gee1323,241
Garvin3413,536
Guinn812,577
Geary23712,382
Grogan33811,400
Gillen1408,462
Gaynor3146,318
Gilligan3196,257

2,000 to 5,000 bearers in the census

Last NameIrish Births 1923-332010 U.S. Census
Gormley1844,949
Gilroy1443,910
Galligan2243,663
Glennon1963,561
Griffen423,495
Geraghty6163,465
Garry1703,439
Gaughan2073,423
Gowen183,186
Griffey53,035
Gleeson9482,919
Goggins522,897
Giblin1402,794
Gately982,599
Goggin1572,470
Gildea1112,049

From 1,000 to 2,000 bearers in the 2010 census

Last NameIrish Births 1923-332010 U.S. Census
Ganley161,979
Glancy731,871
Gartland541,828
Guilfoyle1701,751
Gaw51,731
Guinan1601,727
Geoghegan4651,699
Gillan591,694
Gillon51,429
Greaney2201,413
Garrigan261,372
Ghee101,300
Glavin631,296
Gettings21,266
Gavigan821,138
Gallivan441,092
Gahan2191,085

From 500 to 1,000 bearers

Last NameIrish Births 1923-332010 U.S. Census
Gaffey93940
Guider9938
Gallen77849
Greenan65813
Gorey49706
Glackin22694
Guiney74682
Glacken4652
Gerety27647
Gogan26646
Gillick62613
Gallery12613
Gallogly23612
Gilhooly46592
Ginty109565
Goldrick43557
Gath13556
Gilboy5553
Gargan93551
Granahan15531
Ging40518
Ginley12512

Under five hundred bearers

Last NameIrish Births 1923-332010 U.S. Census
Goonan35419
Gilleran59409
Galway21399
Gaughran48397
Geelan39363
Gavaghan67317
Gilton7301
Guinee6299
Gearty18289
Greany50281
Gilhooley9278
Gilsenan161272
Guinane38270
Geagan7252
Gawley11184
Grannell19170
Gilleece11168
Grenham43155
Gaule50149
Glavey17141
Guiry65137
Gilgan30123

Index To Other Letters

Looking for lists related to other letters? Check these out:

ABCDE
FGHIJ
KLN
PQ
Index to Irish Last Names

Sources

Margaret created a family tree on a genealogy website in 2012. She purchased her first DNA kit in 2017. She created this website to share insights and how-to guides on DNA, genealogy, and family research.

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