Irish Last Names Beginning With H (With Meanings)

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

This article lists 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 H

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

We’ve also included the numbers in the 2010 U.S. census.

Bear in mind that many names come from several different regions and have multiple origins. So, a Higgins family in the United States may be the descendants of Irish ancestors and have one meaning or may descend from English ancestors with a different meaning.

Last NameIrish Births 1923-32U.S. Census 2010
Healy2,31621,751
Hayes1,993194,246
Hughes1,518236,271
Hickey1,39029,350
Higgins1,33479,803
Hurley1,06539,796
Hennessy1,0089,338
Hegarty7983,355
Heffernan7646,961
Harte6643,202
Hanlon60310,278
Hanley52419,240
Hannon50111,893

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 H

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

Healy

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó hÉilidhe. 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 hÉilidhe means “descendant of”, so this name means the descendant of Éaladhach.

So, who was Éaladhach, The meaning comes from the Irish words for ingenious or scientific. Early families were located in what is now County Sligo.

Hayes and Hughes

These are names that have separate origins in England.

In Ireland, they are both Anglicized forms of the Gaelic name Ó hAodha, or descendant of Aodha.

The meaning comes from the Irish word for fire. Several powerful families across the land took variations of this name.

Hickey

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó hÍceadh, or descendant of Ícidhe.

The meaning comes from the Irish word for a healer.

Higgins

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó hUiginn, or descendant of Uige.

The meaning comes from the Irish words for knowledge and skill. The early bearers of the name were renowned as poets.

Hennessy

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó hAonghusa, or descendant of Aonghus.

The meaning comes from Irish words for a single choice.

Hegarty

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó hÉigceartaigh, or descendant of Éigceartach.

The meaning comes from Irish words for unjust.

Heffernan

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó hIfearnáin, or descendant of Ifearnán

There isn’t complete agreement as to the meaning but some point to the Irish word for a demon.

Harte or Hart

This is another name that may have English origins instead of Irish.

In Ireland, the two variants are Anglicized forms of the Gaelic name Ó hAirt, or descendant of Art

The meaning comes from the Irish word for a bear or for a noble hero.

Hanlon

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó hAnluain, or descendant of Anluan.

The meaning comes from the Irish words for a great champion or warrior.

Hanley

This is another name that may have English origins.

The Irish name is an Anglicized form of Ó hÁinle, or descendant of Áinle.

The meaning is similar to Hanlon in that it comes from the same words for a champion or warrior.

Hannon

This is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó hAnnáin, or descendant of Annán.

The meaning may come from Irish words for delay.

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.

Here are the other names. Remember that many of these names were brought to America from different regions where they had different meanings.

Over two hundred births

Last NameIrish Births 1923-32U.S. Census 2010
Hayden44437,451
Hanrahan4445,578
Halpin4235,865
Hartnett3486,387
Halloran3165,465
Heneghan2501,310
Hussey2349,176
Harnett2301,290
Hannigan2234,554
Herlihy2162,556
Harvey213115,662

Over one hundred births

Last NameIrish Births 1923-32U.S. Census 2010
Halligan1983,220
Hassett1983,576
Hannan1857,086
Hartigan1652,707
Harty1623,842
Hession1541,470
Haugh1483,558
Heaney1474,197
Harney1385,376
Hanratty1351,053
Herbert13226,417
Hagan12121,017
Hearne1183,554
Hennessey1018,357

Over ten births

Last NameIrish Births 1923-32U.S. Census 2010
Hallinan991,565
Hardy9880,252
Hardiman974,296
Hennigan942,978
Harley8512,186
Hallahan831,241
Harmon8374,737
Haughey801,654
Heenan781,970
Heslin501,437
Hanna4439,890
Haire375,794
Halley353,943
Harrigan276,646
Heffron222,380
Hearn1515,234
Haren131,041

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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