surnames.ie

Irish surname · 39th most common in 1911

Fitzgerald

FitzGerald means 'son of Gerald'. It is a Norman surname brought to Ireland after 1169 by Maurice FitzGerald, son of Gerald of Windsor, and his descendants, the Geraldines, became Earls of Kildare and Desmond, Knights of Glin and Kerry, and one of the most powerful families in medieval Ireland.

Irish Mac Gearailt
1901 census
12,939
#40 · 29 per 10,000
1911 census
12,743
#39 · 29 per 10,000
1926 census
11,855
#28 · 40 per 10,000
Most numerous
Cork
Highest share: Kerry

Language & meaning

Meaning & Irish forms

Hiberno-Norman Hiberno-Norman: a Cambro-Norman patronymic brought to Ireland during the invasion of 1169, borne by the Geraldine dynasty and its many branches.[1][2]

Mac Gearailt
“son of Gerald”[1][2]
Woulfe gives Mac Gearailt as the Irish form of the Norman FitzGerald, with early English spellings such as M'Gerald.

The name is built on the personal name Gerald, usually explained as “a Germanic personal name brought by the Normans”. The Fitz prefix is Anglo-Norman, from French fils, 'son'. The Gerald in question was Gerald of Windsor, castellan of Pembroke in Wales.[2][1]

Pronunciation

Fitzgerald: fits-JERR-uld

Place

Where the Fitzgeralds 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: 0.8 per 10,000 (14 people) Waterford: 120.8 per 10,000 (995 people) Dublin: 23.6 per 10,000 (1,135 people) Kilkenny: 53 per 10,000 (398 people) Carlow: 49 per 10,000 (178 people) Limerick: 138.8 per 10,000 (1,989 people) Louth: 2.1 per 10,000 (13 people) Tipperary: 64.5 per 10,000 (984 people) Roscommon: 9.3 per 10,000 (87 people) Meath: 6.9 per 10,000 (45 people) Wicklow: 12.8 per 10,000 (78 people) Cavan: 2.1 per 10,000 (19 people) Cork: 68.9 per 10,000 (2,709 people) Clare: 45.7 per 10,000 (477 people) Galway: 7.7 per 10,000 (141 people) Mayo: 10.6 per 10,000 (204 people) Sligo: 1.1 per 10,000 (9 people) Leitrim: 2.7 per 10,000 (17 people) Offaly: 20.2 per 10,000 (115 people) Laois: 24.1 per 10,000 (132 people) Kildare: 21.8 per 10,000 (146 people) Kerry: 139.8 per 10,000 (2,234 people) Monaghan: 5.3 per 10,000 (38 people) Wexford: 18.5 per 10,000 (189 people) Longford: 2.1 per 10,000 (9 people) Westmeath: 15.1 per 10,000 (91 people) Tyrone: 3.8 per 10,000 (54 people) Antrim: 3.2 per 10,000 (151 people) Armagh: 0.8 per 10,000 (9 people) Fermanagh: 1.2 per 10,000 (7 people) Londonderry: 0.5 per 10,000 (7 people) Down: 2.3 per 10,000 (69 people)
fewerup to 146 per 10,000

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

Highest concentration · 1911

Kerry

140 per 10,000

2,234 Fitzgeralds · 4.82× the national share

Highest share, 1911

  1. Kerry 140
  2. Limerick 139
  3. Waterford 121
  4. Cork 69
  5. Tipperary 65
  6. Kilkenny 53
  7. Carlow 49
  8. Clare 46

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
Antrim119151—33—
Armagh129—11—
Carlow139178182374953
Cavan321914322
Clare512477419464644
Cork2,8222,7092,491706968
Donegal31424012
Down5869—22—
Dublin9691,1351,325222427
Fermanagh87—11—
Galway1291411657810
Kerry2,3312,2341,792141140120
Kildare155146138252224
Kilkenny370398361495351
Laois119132127212425
Leitrim10177131
Limerick2,0771,9892,036141139146
Londonderry67—01—
Longford1499322
Louth211334325
Mayo189204211101112
Meath364532575
Monaghan363830555
Offaly14411583242016
Roscommon100878110910
Sligo592110
Tipperary1,029984985646570
Tyrone4154—34—
Waterford1,107995917127121118
Westmeath8791109141519
Wexford194189186191920
Wicklow657895111317

Local strongholds in 1911

District Electoral Divisions (300+ residents) where Fitzgeralds made up the largest share of the population. In Marhin, Co. Kerry, about one resident in 9 was a Fitzgerald.

DEDCountyFitzgeraldsShare
MarhinKerry65 11.2%
LackKerry59 11.0%
CloghaneKerry74 10.6%
MountkennedyWaterford47 8.8%
KilglassLimerick35 7.8%
CastlecoveKerry99 7.6%
CloontraClare33 7.6%
FleanmoreLimerick30 7.6%

Origins

Septs & territories

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

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

FitzGeralds of Kildare

Offaly and Kildare, centred on Maynooth · Kildare

The Leinster branch, Lords of Offaly and from 1316 Earls of Kildare. They later became Marquesses of Kildare in 1761 and Dukes of Leinster in 1766, Ireland's premier peers. Their early base was Maynooth Castle, later replaced by Carton House, with Kilkea Castle as another long-held seat.[1][2][3][4][5]

FitzGeralds of Desmond

Desmond (south Munster), with seats in Limerick, Kerry and Cork · Limerick, Kerry, Cork, Waterford

The Munster branch, Barons Desmond from 1259 and Earls of Desmond from about 1329. The Desmond earls became among the most powerful lords in Munster before the Desmond Rebellions of 1569–73 and 1579–83, which ended with the death of the earl in 1583 and the forfeiture of the title and lands.[1][2][6][7]

Knights of Glin

Glin, on the Shannon estuary · Limerick

A Desmond branch descended from a son of John FitzGerald, 1st Baron Desmond, known as the Black Knight (Ridire an Ghleanna). Their seat was Glin Castle. The title became dormant on the death of Desmond FitzGerald, 29th Knight, in 2011.[8][2][9]

Knights of Kerry

north Kerry, later Valentia · Kerry

Descended from Maurice FitzJohn, another son of the 1st Baron Desmond, and known as the Green Knight (Ridire Chiarraí). They lived at Rahinnane Castle from about 1500 to 1650 and later held a baronetcy of Valentia. The title is still held.[10][2][9]

FitzMaurices of Kerry (Lixnaw)

Lixnaw, north Kerry · Kerry

A Geraldine branch that took the surname Mac Muiris (FitzMaurice) and, as lords of Lixnaw, played a large part in Kerry history. They descend from Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st Baron of Kerry, and survive as the Petty-FitzMaurice Marquesses of Lansdowne.[11][2]

The White Knight (FitzGibbon)

Mahoonagh and other estates in Co. Limerick · Limerick

The FitzGibbons, whose head was the White Knight, are usually counted as a Geraldine branch, and Wikipedia includes them among the three Desmond hereditary knighthoods. Woulfe disagrees, tracing them instead to Gilbert de Clare. The title has been dormant since the early 17th century.[12][2]

The name over time

History

Gerald of Windsor and Nest

The family takes its name from Gerald of Windsor, a Cambro-Norman lord who was the first castellan of Pembroke Castle in south Wales around 1100. He married Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, the last king of Deheubarth, and Wikipedia calls her the female progenitor of the FitzGerald dynasty. Their son Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llanstephan, took part in the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169 alongside his half-brother Robert FitzStephen and died at Wexford in 1176. Woulfe says every family of the name in Ireland descends from Maurice.[13][14][1][2]

The Earls of Kildare

Maurice's son Gerald became the first Lord of Offaly, and in 1316 John FitzGerald was created Earl of Kildare. The Kildare earls reached the height of their power under Gerald, the 8th Earl, known as Garret Mór or the Great Earl, who served as Lord Deputy almost continuously from 1477 until his death in 1513. Henry VII is said to have remarked that, since all Ireland could not govern this earl, the earl should govern all Ireland. The family motto, Crom a boo, comes from their castle at Croom in Co. Limerick.[2][3][15][16]

Silken Thomas and the Kildare rebellion

In June 1534 Thomas FitzGerald, son of the 9th Earl and known as Silken Thomas from the silk fringes worn by his retinue, renounced his allegiance to Henry VIII in Dublin. In March 1535 an English army took Maynooth Castle, and its surrendered garrison was put to death. Thomas submitted that summer and was executed at Tyburn on 3 February 1537 with five of his uncles. The earldom was later restored, and in 1766 the 20th Earl became the first Duke of Leinster.[17][3][2]

The Earls of Desmond

In Munster, John FitzThomas became Baron Desmond in 1259 and his descendant Maurice FitzThomas was made Earl of Desmond about 1329. The third earl, Gerald, known in Irish as Gearóid Iarla, wrote poetry in Irish and Norman French and was briefly Lord Chief Justice in 1367; folklore says he sleeps beneath Lough Gur since his disappearance in 1398. Wikipedia credits him with drawing the Desmond Geraldines towards the Irish language, the classic case of Normans becoming more Irish than the Irish.[2][6][18]

The Desmond Rebellions

Tension with the Tudor state broke into open war in the Desmond Rebellions of 1569–73 and 1579–83. James FitzMaurice FitzGerald led the first rising while Gerald, the 14th Earl, was held in England, and died in 1579. The earl himself then led the second rebellion and was killed on 11 November 1583. His title was forfeited and his vast Munster lands were confiscated. The earldom was created afresh in 1600, but the senior Desmond line died out in the 17th century.[7][6][19][2]

Knights, offshoots and later Geraldines

The Earls of Desmond created three hereditary knighthoods for their kinsmen: the Knight of Glin, the Knight of Kerry and the White Knight, though Woulfe doubts that the last line was truly Geraldine. Other families branched off and took new surnames: the FitzMaurices of Lixnaw, and the Barrons of Burnchurch in Co. Kilkenny. Among later members, Lord Edward FitzGerald, a son of the 1st Duke of Leinster, joined the United Irishmen and was shot while resisting arrest in May 1798, dying of the wound in Newgate Prison that June.[2][10][12][11][20][21]

Places linked to the name

  • Maynooth Castle, Co. Kildare — Built in the early 13th century as the main residence of the Kildare FitzGeralds; taken by an English army in 1535.[4][17]
  • Carton House, Co. Kildare — Georgian house at Maynooth that became the country seat of the Earls of Kildare and Dukes of Leinster.[5][3]
  • Croom Castle (Cromadh), Co. Limerick — A principal Kildare residence, and the source of the motto 'Crom a boo'.[16][3]
  • Askeaton (Eas Géitine), Co. Limerick — Its castle and abbey are listed among the Desmond FitzGerald estates.[2]
  • Glin Castle, Co. Limerick — Seat of the Knights of Glin, rebuilt as a Georgian house in the late 18th century.[8][22]
  • Lough Gur (Loch Goir), Co. Limerick — Folklore says Gearóid Iarla, the 3rd Earl of Desmond, sleeps in a cave beneath the lake.[18]

Everyday lives

The Fitzgeralds in the census

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

Fitzgeralds All of Ireland Ireland's figure marked on the Fitzgerald bar

Religion, 1911

Catholic +23.0 points vs Ireland
Fitzgeralds 96.6%
All of Ireland 73.6%
Church of Ireland −10.5 points vs Ireland
Fitzgeralds 2.7%
All of Ireland 13.2%
Presbyterian −9.8 points vs Ireland
Fitzgeralds 0.3%
All of Ireland 10.1%
Methodist & other −2.7 points vs Ireland
Fitzgeralds 0.4%
All of Ireland 3.1%

Irish language

Spoke Irish, 1901 +9.9 points vs Ireland
Fitzgeralds 25.2%
All of Ireland 15.3%
Spoke Irish, 1911 +7.3 points vs Ireland
Fitzgeralds 20.8%
All of Ireland 13.5%
Spoke Irish, 1926 · 26 counties +2.0 points vs Ireland
Fitzgeralds 15.5%
All of Ireland 13.5%

104 Fitzgeralds spoke Irish only in 1901.

Reading & writing

Could read and write, 1901 · aged 15+ +2.0 points vs Ireland
Fitzgeralds 82.4%
All of Ireland 80.4%
Could read and write, 1911 · aged 15+ +1.7 points vs Ireland
Fitzgeralds 87.5%
All of Ireland 85.8%

Family life, 1911

Household size · 2,591 households higher than Ireland
Fitzgeralds 5
All of Ireland 4.83
Children born per mother · women 45–59 higher than Ireland
Fitzgeralds 6.71
All of Ireland 6.46
Children still living −1.0 points vs Ireland
Fitzgeralds 78.8%
All of Ireland 79.8%

Commonest occupations

Adults aged 15+, 1901 and 1911 combined.

Farmer1,951
Farmer's son958
Agricultural labourer577
Farmer's daughter569
General labourer502
Farm servant462
Labourer379
Domestic servant305
House keeper299
Farm labourer244

Born outside Ireland

1.1% of Fitzgeralds in 1911 gave a birthplace outside Ireland.

England72
United States31
Scotland10
Australia & NZ7
Wales7
India5

Median age: 24 in 1901, 25 in 1911.

Given names

First names among the Fitzgeralds

Men and boys

  1. John2,993
  2. Patrick2,027
  3. James1,811
  4. Michael1,683
  5. Thomas1,532
  6. William1,196
  7. Edward608
  8. Maurice546
  9. Richard400
  10. Edmond279

Women and girls

  1. Mary3,521
  2. Bridget1,365
  3. Margaret1,330
  4. Ellen1,185
  5. Kate693
  6. Catherine650
  7. Annie484
  8. Johanna434
  9. Hannah426
  10. Julia407

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

Spellings

Spellings

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

Spelling190119111926Records
Fitzgerald12,93912,74311,855Search

Related forms

  • FitzGerald — The spelling with a capital G, keeping the 'son of' prefix visible; Woulfe gives both FitzGerald and Fitzgerald.[1]
  • M'Gerald, M'Garilt — Early English renderings of the Irish form Mac Gearailt.[1]
  • FitzMaurice — A Geraldine offshoot, Mac Muiris, lords of Lixnaw in Kerry.[11]
  • Barron — Surname taken by the Fitzgerald barons of Burnchurch in Co. Kilkenny, according to Woulfe.[20]
  • Bodkin — A Galway family said to be a branch of the Fitzgeralds, according to Woulfe.[23]

Diaspora

The Fitzgeralds abroad

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

SpellingPeopleUS rank
Fitzgerald75,356430th

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

Heraldry

Is there a Fitzgerald coat of arms?

There is no single FitzGerald crest; arms belonged to particular branches. Burke's General Armory gives the Duke of Leinster, as chief of the Geraldines, a red saltire on silver, a monkey crest and the motto 'Crom a boo'. For the Earls of Desmond and the Knight of Glin, Burke gives a red saltire on ermine, and his Glin entry has the motto 'Shanet a boo', which Wikipedia links to Shanid Castle in Co. Limerick.[9][6][3]

Websites selling a single “Fitzgerald 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 Fitzgerald

Questions

Questions about the Fitzgerald name

Is Fitzgerald an Irish surname?

It is Hiberno-Norman. The name arrived with the Norman invasion of 1169, but the FitzGeralds have been in Ireland for over 850 years, held huge territories in Leinster and Munster, and in some branches became thoroughly Gaelicised. Woulfe ranks them with the Burkes and Butlers among the leading Anglo-Norman families in Ireland.[1][2][18]

What does Fitzgerald mean?

It means 'son of Gerald'. Fitz is a Norman French form of fils, 'son'. The Gerald was Gerald of Windsor, castellan of Pembroke in Wales, whose son Maurice came to Ireland in 1169 and founded the Irish family. The same 'Fitz' pattern appears in other Norman names such as FitzGibbon and FitzMaurice.[2][13][1][12][11]

What is Fitzgerald in Irish?

The Irish form is Mac Gearailt, literally 'son of Gerald', a direct translation of the Norman name. Woulfe also records early anglicised spellings such as M'Gerald. The FitzGerald dynasty as a whole is also known as the Geraldines.[1][2]

Who were the Geraldines?

The Geraldines were the FitzGerald dynasty and its branches. The two great lines were the Earls of Kildare, later Dukes of Leinster, and the Earls of Desmond in Munster. Lesser branches included the Knights of Glin and Kerry and the FitzMaurices of Lixnaw.[2][1][11]

Is there a Fitzgerald family crest or coat of arms?

Each branch had its own arms. Burke records a red saltire on silver for the Kildare line and the Duke of Leinster, with a monkey as crest, and a red saltire on ermine for the Earls of Desmond and the Knights of Glin and Kerry. These belonged to those families, not to everyone named Fitzgerald.[9][3][6]

What is the Fitzgerald motto?

The Kildare FitzGeralds used 'Crom a boo' (now spelt Crom Abú), from their castle at Croom, Co. Limerick, roughly 'Croom to victory'. The Desmond motto was 'Shanid abú', after Shanid Castle, and Burke gives the form 'Shanet a boo' for the Knight of Glin. They were war cries of particular branches.[3][16][6][9]

Where in Ireland is the Fitzgerald surname most common?

In the 1911 census the largest numbers of Fitzgeralds lived in Cork (2,709), Kerry (2,234), Limerick (1,989). Relative to population, the name was most concentrated in Kerry (140 per 10,000), Limerick (139 per 10,000), Waterford (121 per 10,000).

How common was the Fitzgerald surname in Ireland?

12,743 people were recorded as Fitzgerald in the 1911 census of Ireland, making it the 39th most common surname. That is roughly 0.3% of the population, or 1 person in 345.

Looking for a Fitzgerald ancestor?

Search every Fitzgerald 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, Mac Gearailt, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  2. Wikipedia, FitzGerald dynasty (2026)
  3. Wikipedia, Duke of Leinster (2026). Also covers the Earls of Kildare.
  4. Wikipedia, Maynooth Castle (2026)
  5. Wikipedia, Carton House (2026)
  6. Wikipedia, Earl of Desmond (2026)
  7. Wikipedia, Desmond Rebellions (2026)
  8. Wikipedia, Knight of Glin (2026)
  9. Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884). Entries under 'Fitz-Gerald', including the Duke of Leinster, Earl of Desmond, Knight of Glyn and Knight of Kerry.
  10. Wikipedia, Knight of Kerry (2026)
  11. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Muiris, Mac Mhuiris, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  12. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Giobúin, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  13. Wikipedia, Gerald de Windsor (2026)
  14. Wikipedia, Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Llanstephan (2026)
  15. Wikipedia, Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare (2026)
  16. Wikipedia, Croom Castle (2026)
  17. Wikipedia, Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare (2026)
  18. Wikipedia, Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond (2026)
  19. Wikipedia, James FitzMaurice FitzGerald (2026)
  20. Patrick Woulfe, Barún, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  21. Wikipedia, Lord Edward FitzGerald (2026)
  22. Wikipedia, Glin Castle (2026)
  23. Patrick Woulfe, Bóidicín, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  24. 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.
  25. Irish forms cross-checked against Gaois surname data (Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge, DCU).

How we compile these figures: methodology.