surnames.ie

Irish surname · 30th most common in 1911

Connolly

Also spelt Connelly, Conolly, Connally, O Connolly

Connolly usually stands for the Irish Ó Conghalaigh, 'descendant of Conghalach', a name borne by unrelated families in Meath and Monaghan, Clare, Galway and Roscommon. Its English forms also absorbed similar names such as Ó Conghaile, so a Connolly from Fermanagh, Mayo or west Cork may have a different origin.

Irish Ó Conghalaigh · Ó ConghaileIrish Ó ConghaileIrish Mac ConghalaighIrish Ó CoingheallaighIrish Ní Chonghaile
1901 census
14,389
#29 · 33 per 10,000
1911 census
14,164
#30 · 32 per 10,000
1926 census
11,554
#31 · 39 per 10,000
Most numerous
Galway
Highest share: Monaghan

Language & meaning

Meaning & Irish forms

Gaelic Gaelic Irish: several distinct and unrelated septs called Ó Conghalaigh, with other similar Irish names merged into the same English spellings.[1][2]

Ó Conghalaigh
Modern spelling: Ó Conghaile
“descendant of Conghalach”[1][2]
Woulfe's main source of Connolly. Wikipedia notes that modern Irish may spell it Ó Conghaile.
Ó Conghaile
“descendant of Conghal”[3][4][5]
A separate name in Woulfe, belonging to families in Mayo, Lough Erne and Clonmacnoise, whose English forms overlap with Connolly. James Connolly's name in Irish is given as Séamas Ó Conghaile.
Mac Conghalaigh
“son of Conghalach”[6]
A rare name once found in Sligo and Leitrim, and sometimes used in Monaghan as an alias for Ó Conghalaigh.
Ó Coingheallaigh
“descendant of Coingheallach”[7][8]
A west Cork name, also found in Ormond, usually anglicised Kennelly but sometimes Connelly or Connolly; Mac Coingheallaigh was used as an alias.
Ní Chonghaile
“the form for women”[2]
Used, for example, by the TG4 presenter Eibhlín Ní Chonghaile, whom Wikipedia counts among the Galway Connollys.

The name is built on the personal name Conghalach, usually explained as “valorous”. Woulfe explains Conghalach as a derivative of Conghal, which he glosses 'high-valour'. Wikipedia instead gives Conghal the sense 'fierce as a hound'.[1][3][2]

Pronunciation

Connolly: KON-uh-lee

Place

Where the Connollys lived

How common the name was in each county, as a share of the population, in the three surviving full censuses of Ireland. Use the buttons to compare years.

Donegal: 15.6 per 10,000 (263 people) Waterford: 36 per 10,000 (296 people) Dublin: 26.3 per 10,000 (1,264 people) Kilkenny: 21.3 per 10,000 (160 people) Carlow: 27.2 per 10,000 (99 people) Limerick: 18.6 per 10,000 (267 people) Louth: 52.2 per 10,000 (329 people) Tipperary: 19.3 per 10,000 (294 people) Roscommon: 40.4 per 10,000 (380 people) Meath: 17.8 per 10,000 (116 people) Wicklow: 23.2 per 10,000 (141 people) Cavan: 42.1 per 10,000 (385 people) Cork: 31 per 10,000 (1,219 people) Clare: 8.3 per 10,000 (87 people) Galway: 117 per 10,000 (2,133 people) Mayo: 25.2 per 10,000 (485 people) Sligo: 63.1 per 10,000 (499 people) Leitrim: 82.5 per 10,000 (520 people) Offaly: 39.7 per 10,000 (226 people) Laois: 21.7 per 10,000 (119 people) Kildare: 57.4 per 10,000 (384 people) Kerry: 3.4 per 10,000 (55 people) Monaghan: 168.2 per 10,000 (1,203 people) Wexford: 28.5 per 10,000 (292 people) Longford: 35.8 per 10,000 (157 people) Westmeath: 21.4 per 10,000 (129 people) Tyrone: 37 per 10,000 (528 people) Antrim: 18.5 per 10,000 (883 people) Armagh: 26.9 per 10,000 (322 people) Fermanagh: 46 per 10,000 (279 people) Londonderry: 7.4 per 10,000 (103 people) Down: 17.9 per 10,000 (547 people)
fewerup to 186 per 10,000

Share of each county's census population. 1926 covers the 26 counties of the Irish Free State only.

Highest concentration · 1911

Monaghan

168 per 10,000

1,203 Connollys · 5.21× the national share

Highest share, 1911

  1. Monaghan 168
  2. Galway 117
  3. Leitrim 83
  4. Sligo 63
  5. Kildare 57
  6. Louth 52
  7. Fermanagh 46
  8. Cavan 42

Per 10,000 residents. A concentration index above 1 means the name was commoner there than nationally.

County figures as a table
County190119111926Per 10k 1901Per 10k 1911Per 10k 1926
Antrim921883—2019—
Armagh310322—2527—
Carlow11499149312743
Cavan359385352374243
Clare1138710710811
Cork1,2461,2191,154313132
Donegal242263234141615
Down496547—1718—
Dublin1,1461,2641,422262628
Fermanagh248279—3846—
Galway2,1952,1332,086114117123
Kerry625571435
Kildare405384361665762
Kilkenny136160142182120
Laois137119114242222
Leitrim632520435918377
Limerick282267259191919
Londonderry86103—67—
Longford150157150323638
Louth332329358515257
Mayo493485459252527
Meath171116140241822
Monaghan1,3281,2031,209178168186
Offaly216226220364042
Roscommon428380415434050
Sligo465499517586373
Tipperary306294305191922
Tyrone530528—3537—
Waterford332296269383635
Westmeath132129169212130
Wexford258292305252932
Wicklow118141152202327

Local strongholds in 1911

District Electoral Divisions (300+ residents) where Connollys made up the largest share of the population. In Glenaniff, Co. Leitrim, about one resident in 9 was a Connolly.

DEDCountyConnollysShare
GlenaniffLeitrim68 10.6%
CastleblayneyMonaghan164 10.1%
MeluinLeitrim50 10.0%
Rossinver EastSligo58 9.5%
KilleenavarraGalway38 8.7%
KilpatrickKildare38 8.6%
KilmoreMonaghan62 8.1%
CullamoreTyrone46 7.7%

Origins

Septs & territories

Many Irish surnames were adopted independently by unrelated families. These are the distinct Connolly lineages described in the sources.

A surname can point you towards a place. On its own, it cannot establish a pedigree.

Ó Conghalaigh of Meath and Monaghan

East Meath, later Co. Monaghan in Airgíalla · Meath, Monaghan

Woulfe places this family among the southern Uí Néill, seated in east Meath until soon after the Anglo-Norman invasion, when they moved to Monaghan under the MacMahons and became very numerous. Wikipedia allows that they may instead have been an offshoot of the MacMahons. John Grenham, quoted there, says they had chiefs of the name until the 17th century and helped organise the rising of 1641.[1][2]

Ó Conghalaigh of Thomond

Thomond · Clare

A Dalcassian family said to descend from Mahon, brother of Brian Boru.[1]

Ó Conghalaigh of Uí Maine and Iar Connacht

Co. Galway · Galway

Woulfe describes a Galway branch of the Uí Maine, of the same stock as the O'Maddens. Wikipedia lists an Ó Conghalaigh family of Iar Connacht, among whose descendants it counts President Catherine Connolly.[1][2]

Ó Conghalaigh of Roscommon

Co. Roscommon · Roscommon

Woulfe records a fourth family of the name in Roscommon but gives no further detail.[1]

Connollys of Lough Erne

Derrygonnelly and the churches of Lough Erne · Fermanagh

Wikipedia lists an Ó Conghalaigh family of Derrygonnelly, a village whose Irish name means 'O'Connelly's oak grove'. Woulfe describes an Ó Conghaile church family of Lough Erne connected with Devenish, Rossory and Lisgool.[2][9][3]

Ó Conghaile of Uí Fiachrach

Killarduff, in the parish of Dunfeeny · Mayo

A family of the Uí Fiachrach anciently seated in north Mayo. Woulfe also records a church family of the name at Clonmacnoise.[3]

Ó Coingheallaigh of west Cork

Parish of Drinagh, near Drimoleague · Cork

Retainers of the O'Donovans who at one time held seven ploughlands in Drinagh parish. The name was also found in Ormond, and its English forms include Kennelly, Connelly and Connolly.[7][8]

Ó Conghaile of Muirthemne

Muirthemne · Louth

Wikipedia includes a Co. Louth family in its list of unrelated Ó Conghalaigh septs, without further detail.[2]

The name over time

History

Many families, one spelling

Connolly brings together several Irish surnames that sounded alike in English. The main one is Ó Conghalaigh, from Conghalach, a derivative of the personal name Conghal. Woulfe knew of four unrelated families with that name, in Meath and Monaghan, in Thomond, in Galway and in Roscommon. He warned that their English forms often cannot be separated from those of Ó Conghaile, Ó Coingheallaigh and Mac Conghaile, and added that even the annals sometimes put one name for another. Wikipedia's list of distinct Ó Conghalaigh families includes others in Fermanagh, Cork and Louth.[1][3][2]

From Meath to Monaghan

The best-documented family began in east Meath as part of the southern Uí Néill. Woulfe says they lost their lands soon after the Anglo-Norman invasion and settled among the MacMahons in Co. Monaghan, where the name became very common. Wikipedia notes an alternative view that they were a branch of the MacMahon kings of Airgíalla. Quoting the genealogist John Grenham, it says they came to prominence in the 15th century, kept chiefs of the name into the 17th, and lost their power and property after the failure of the 1641 rising they had helped to organise.[1][2]

Speaker Conolly and Castletown

The most successful descendant of the Monaghan family was William Conolly, born in 1662 at Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, the son of an innkeeper from Monaghan. His father had joined the Anglican church, and William trained as a lawyer, becoming Speaker of the Irish House of Commons from 1715 until his death in 1729. He was said to be the richest man in Ireland when he died. Castletown House at Celbridge, the great Palladian house begun for him in 1722, kept the Conolly spelling alive among his heirs.[10][11]

Connollys of Munster and Connacht

In the south and west the name has other roots. Woulfe's Thomond family were Dalcassians, said to descend from Mahon, brother of Brian Boru, and his Galway family were a branch of the Uí Maine, related to the O'Maddens. In Sligo and Leitrim the rarer Mac Conghalaigh was once found. In west Cork, the Ó Coingheallaigh family, followers of the O'Donovans, held land in Drinagh parish near Drimoleague; their name usually became Kennelly but sometimes Connelly or Connolly. Wikipedia traces many modern Galway Connollys to a family of Iar Connacht.[1][6][7][2]

Connolly, Conneely and Kennelly

Conneely is often confused with Connolly. Woulfe gives Ó Conghaile and Mac Conghaile, both from Conghal, as the sources of Conneely in west Connacht, and lists Connelly and even Connolly among their occasional English forms. Wikipedia treats the Connacht Conneelys, who gave their name to Ballyconneely, as an entirely separate sept. Kennelly, for its part, belongs mainly to Ó Coingheallaigh. A family's county of origin is often the best guide to which Irish name lies behind a particular Connolly.[3][12][7][2]

Places linked to the name

  • Castletown House, Co. Kildare — Palladian house at Celbridge built from 1722 for Speaker William Conolly.[11][13]
  • Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal — Birthplace of William Conolly, whose father had come there from Monaghan.[10]
  • Derrygonnelly (Doire Ó gConaíle), Co. Fermanagh — Its Irish name means 'O'Connelly's oak grove'; Wikipedia lists an Ó Conghalaigh family here.[9][2]
  • Drinagh, Co. Cork — Parish where the Ó Coingheallaigh family once held seven ploughlands under the O'Donovans.[7]

Everyday lives

The Connollys in the census

Who the Connollys were in the 1901 and 1911 censuses (and 1926 where recorded), set against everyone in Ireland in the same census.

Connollys All of Ireland Ireland's figure marked on the Connolly bar

Religion, 1911

Catholic +20.4 points vs Ireland
Connollys 94.0%
All of Ireland 73.6%
Church of Ireland −10.6 points vs Ireland
Connollys 2.6%
All of Ireland 13.2%
Presbyterian −7.5 points vs Ireland
Connollys 2.6%
All of Ireland 10.1%
Methodist & other −2.3 points vs Ireland
Connollys 0.8%
All of Ireland 3.1%

Irish language

Spoke Irish, 1901 +5.4 points vs Ireland
Connollys 20.7%
All of Ireland 15.3%
Spoke Irish, 1911 +5.3 points vs Ireland
Connollys 18.8%
All of Ireland 13.5%
Spoke Irish, 1926 · 26 counties +3.1 points vs Ireland
Connollys 16.6%
All of Ireland 13.5%

188 Connollys spoke Irish only in 1901.

Reading & writing

Could read and write, 1901 · aged 15+ −4.6 points vs Ireland
Connollys 75.8%
All of Ireland 80.4%
Could read and write, 1911 · aged 15+ −3.5 points vs Ireland
Connollys 82.3%
All of Ireland 85.8%

Family life, 1911

Household size · 2,975 households about the same as Ireland
Connollys 4.78
All of Ireland 4.83
Children born per mother · women 45–59 higher than Ireland
Connollys 6.74
All of Ireland 6.46
Children still living about the same as Ireland
Connollys 79.5%
All of Ireland 79.8%

Commonest occupations

Adults aged 15+, 1901 and 1911 combined.

Farmer2,995
Farmer's son1,448
Farmer's daughter720
General labourer444
Agricultural labourer410
Labourer362
Farm servant361
Farm labourer291
Domestic servant268
House keeper266

Born outside Ireland

1.6% of Connollys in 1911 gave a birthplace outside Ireland.

England87
Scotland76
United States48
India4
Canada3
Wales2

Median age: 24 in 1901, 25 in 1911.

Given names

First names among the Connollys

Men and boys

  1. John2,937
  2. Patrick2,510
  3. James1,820
  4. Michael1,813
  5. Thomas1,507
  6. William710
  7. Peter480
  8. Joseph463
  9. Edward404
  10. Martin379

Women and girls

  1. Mary3,469
  2. Bridget1,645
  3. Margaret1,068
  4. Ellen935
  5. Catherine797
  6. Annie705
  7. Kate673
  8. Anne518
  9. Maggie511
  10. Elizabeth437

All three censuses combined. Top five in 1926: John, Patrick, Michael, James, Thomas; Mary, Bridget, Margaret, Annie, Ellen.

Spellings

Spellings

This page combines the spellings below, which census enumerators and families used for the same name.

Spelling190119111926Records
Connolly11,72911,78310,460Search
Connelly2,1801,947917Search
Conolly27221197Search
Connally20721978Search
O Connolly142Search

Related forms

  • O'Connolly, O Connolly — Older forms keeping the prefix, recorded by Woulfe.[1]
  • Connelly — Another English form of Ó Conghalaigh, also used for Ó Conghaile and Ó Coingheallaigh.[1][14][3]
  • Conolly — The spelling used by Speaker William Conolly and his heirs at Castletown.[10][13]
  • Connally, O Connally — Forms recorded by Woulfe for Ó Conghalaigh; Wikipedia also gives Connally.[1][2]
  • Conley — An occasional anglicisation noted by Wikipedia.[2]
  • Conneely, Kennelly — Mostly separate names (Ó Conghaile, Mac Conghaile, Ó Coingheallaigh) whose English forms overlap with Connolly.[3][12][7]

Diaspora

The Connollys abroad

Emigration carried the name worldwide. In the 2010 United States census:

SpellingPeopleUS rank
Connolly29,7101190th
Connelly23,3981537th
Conolly55939352nd
Connally2,45112627th

Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 surname file (public domain).

Heraldry

Is there a Connolly coat of arms?

There is no single Connolly coat of arms. Burke's General Armory records arms registered in Queen Anne's reign to William Conolly of Castletown, Speaker of the Irish Commons: silver, a black engrailed saltire bearing five silver escallops, with a crest of an arm grasping a gold chaplet and the motto 'En Dieu est tout'. The Pakenham heir who took the name Conolly in 1821 bore the same arms with the motto 'Fiat Dei voluntas'. These belonged to that family, not to Connollys in general.[13]

Websites selling a single “Connolly family crest” are selling a design, not an inheritance. Arms in Ireland belonged to individuals and their heirs, and the Chief Herald of Ireland still grants arms that way today.

People

Notable people named Connolly

  • William Conolly (1662–1729)
    Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and builder of Castletown House.
  • James Connolly (1868–1916)
    Scottish-born republican and labour leader, executed after taking part in the 1916 Rising.
  • Nora Connolly O'Brien (1892–1981)
    Activist and writer, daughter of James Connolly, and a senator from 1957 to 1969.
  • Roddy Connolly (1901–1980)
    Socialist politician, son of James Connolly.
  • Cyril Connolly (1903–1974)
    English critic who edited the literary magazine Horizon and wrote Enemies of Promise.
  • Sybil Connolly (1921–1998)
    Fashion designer, 'Dublin's Dior', who brought Irish textiles into haute couture.
  • Maureen Connolly (1934–1969)
    American tennis player, the first woman to win the Grand Slam, in 1953.
  • Billy Connolly (born 1942)
    Scottish comedian, actor and musician known as 'the Big Yin'.
  • Paudge Connolly (born 1953)
    Independent TD for Cavan–Monaghan from 2002 to 2007.
  • Catherine Connolly (born 1955)
    President of Ireland since November 2025, formerly a TD for Galway West.
  • Joe Connolly (born 1956)
    Galway hurler who captained the county to the 1980 All-Ireland title.
  • John Connolly (born 1968)
    Irish crime writer, author of the Charlie Parker detective novels.

Questions

Questions about the Connolly name

Is Connolly an Irish surname?

Yes. Connolly is the English form of several Gaelic Irish names, chiefly Ó Conghalaigh, borne by unrelated families in Meath and Monaghan, Clare, Galway and Roscommon. Similar names such as Ó Conghaile in Mayo and Fermanagh and Ó Coingheallaigh in west Cork were sometimes anglicised the same way.[1][3][7]

What is Connolly in Irish?

Usually Ó Conghalaigh, which Wikipedia says may also be written Ó Conghaile in modern Irish; a woman uses Ní Chonghaile. James Connolly's Irish name is given as Séamas Ó Conghaile. Some Connollys come instead from Mac Conghalaigh or Ó Coingheallaigh.[1][2][5][6][7]

What is the difference between Connolly, Connelly and Conolly?

Mostly spelling. Woulfe lists Connolly, Connelly and Connally as English forms of the same Irish name, Ó Conghalaigh. Conolly was the spelling of Speaker William Conolly and his descendants at Castletown. A particular spelling does not prove which Irish family a person descends from.[1][10]

Are Connolly and Conneely the same name?

Not usually. Conneely comes from Ó Conghaile or Mac Conghaile of west Connacht, and Wikipedia treats it as a separate sept. Woulfe notes, though, that the English forms overlap, with Connelly and occasionally Connolly used for those names, so a Galway or Mayo family could have either origin.[3][12][2]

Where does the Connolly name come from?

It depends on the family. The best-known Connollys came from east Meath and settled in Monaghan under the MacMahons, but there were other septs in Clare, Galway, Roscommon and Fermanagh, and related names in Mayo and west Cork. The county where a family lived before 1850 is the best clue.[1][2][3][7]

Is there a Connolly family crest or coat of arms?

Not for everyone named Connolly. Burke records arms for the Conollys of Castletown, Co. Kildare, registered to Speaker William Conolly: a black engrailed saltire with five silver escallops, and the motto 'En Dieu est tout' ('In God is all'). Those arms belong to that family's line.[13]

Where in Ireland is the Connolly surname most common?

In the 1911 census the largest numbers of Connollys lived in Galway (2,133), Dublin (1,264), Cork (1,219). Relative to population, the name was most concentrated in Monaghan (168 per 10,000), Galway (117 per 10,000), Leitrim (83 per 10,000).

How common was the Connolly surname in Ireland?

14,164 people were recorded as Connolly or Connelly or Conolly or Connally or O Connolly in the 1911 census of Ireland, making it the 30th most common surname. That is roughly 0.3% of the population, or 1 person in 310.

Looking for a Connolly ancestor?

Search every Connolly household in the 1901, 1911 and 1926 censuses, with free images of the original forms.

Search records on irishcensus.com

Evidence

Sources

  1. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Conghalaigh, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  2. Wikipedia, Ó Conghalaigh (2026)
  3. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Conghaile, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  4. Wikipedia, Connolly (surname) (2026)
  5. Wikipedia, James Connolly (2026)
  6. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Conghalaigh, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  7. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Coingheallaigh, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  8. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Coingheallaigh, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  9. Wikipedia, Derrygonnelly (2026)
  10. Wikipedia, William Conolly (2026)
  11. Wikipedia, Castletown House (2026)
  12. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Conghaile, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  13. Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884). Entries 'Conolly' and 'Conolly (Castletown, co. Kildare)'.
  14. Wikipedia, Connelly (surname) (2026)
  15. Census of Ireland 1901 and 1911, and Census of Population 1926, National Archives of Ireland. Counts compiled by surnames.ie from the irishcensus.com transcription (dataset 20260831130351). 1926 data © National Archives of Ireland, CC BY 4.0.
  16. Irish forms cross-checked against Gaois surname data (Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge, DCU).

How we compile these figures: methodology.