surnames.ie

Irish surname · 33rd most common in 1911

Flynn

Also spelt O'Flynn, Flynne

Flynn, with O'Flynn, is the English form of the Irish Ó Floinn, 'descendant of Flann', a personal name meaning red or ruddy. Several unrelated families bore it, in Roscommon, Mayo, Cork and Ulster, which is why the name is found across most of Ireland.

Irish Ó FloinnIrish Ó FlainnIrish Ó LoinnIrish Mac Floinn
1901 census
14,199
#31 · 32 per 10,000
1911 census
14,078
#33 · 32 per 10,000
1926 census
13,243
#22 · 45 per 10,000
Most numerous
Cork
Highest share: Leitrim

Language & meaning

Meaning & Irish forms

Gaelic Gaelic Irish: a patronymic from the personal name Flann, borne by at least five unrelated families in Connacht, Munster and Ulster.[1]

Ó Floinn
“descendant of Flann”[1][2]
Woulfe's headword, used by several separate families. Gaois lists Ó Floinn as the standard modern Irish form of Flynn and O'Flynn.
Ó Flainn
“descendant of Flann”[3]
An older spelling which Woulfe says is usually written Ó Floinn; early English renderings include Flang and Flyng.
Ó Loinn
“descendant of Flann”[4][2]
The same name after the initial F was softened (aspirated) and dropped out of hearing. Woulfe gives it for the Ulster family of Uí Tuirtre, whose name became Lynn or O'Lynn in English.
Mac Floinn
“son of Flann”[5][6]
A rarer form, which Woulfe treats as a variant of Mag Fhloinn, the source of MacGlynn and Glynn.

The name is built on the personal name Flann, usually explained as “red, ruddy”. Woulfe glosses Flann as 'red' in one entry and 'ruddy' in another. Wikipedia describes it as a byname for someone of reddish or ruddy complexion.[1][5][7]

Pronunciation

Flynn: FLIN

Place

Where the Flynns 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: 2.5 per 10,000 (42 people) Waterford: 149.1 per 10,000 (1,228 people) Dublin: 24.3 per 10,000 (1,166 people) Kilkenny: 20.5 per 10,000 (154 people) Carlow: 16.8 per 10,000 (61 people) Limerick: 47.2 per 10,000 (677 people) Louth: 40.6 per 10,000 (256 people) Tipperary: 35.4 per 10,000 (540 people) Roscommon: 109.6 per 10,000 (1,030 people) Meath: 27.6 per 10,000 (180 people) Wicklow: 18.1 per 10,000 (110 people) Cavan: 25.8 per 10,000 (236 people) Cork: 53.1 per 10,000 (2,086 people) Clare: 29.5 per 10,000 (308 people) Galway: 29.6 per 10,000 (540 people) Mayo: 40.4 per 10,000 (777 people) Sligo: 67.7 per 10,000 (536 people) Leitrim: 179.1 per 10,000 (1,129 people) Offaly: 59.5 per 10,000 (339 people) Laois: 37.8 per 10,000 (207 people) Kildare: 21.7 per 10,000 (145 people) Kerry: 50.1 per 10,000 (801 people) Monaghan: 6.4 per 10,000 (46 people) Wexford: 29.4 per 10,000 (301 people) Longford: 47.7 per 10,000 (209 people) Westmeath: 50.5 per 10,000 (304 people) Tyrone: 1.3 per 10,000 (18 people) Antrim: 4.7 per 10,000 (224 people) Armagh: 1.8 per 10,000 (22 people) Fermanagh: 18.3 per 10,000 (111 people) Londonderry: 2.6 per 10,000 (37 people) Down: 8.4 per 10,000 (258 people)
fewerup to 179 per 10,000

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

Highest concentration · 1911

Leitrim

179 per 10,000

1,129 Flynns · 5.58× the national share

Highest share, 1911

  1. Leitrim 179
  2. Waterford 149
  3. Roscommon 110
  4. Sligo 68
  5. Offaly 60
  6. Cork 53
  7. Westmeath 51
  8. Kerry 50

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
Antrim179224—45—
Armagh3022—22—
Carlow576193151727
Cavan267236238272629
Clare326308299293032
Cork2,1732,0862,153545359
Donegal404234232
Down209258—78—
Dublin1,0721,1661,391242428
Fermanagh112111—1718—
Galway540540526283031
Kerry815801707495047
Kildare172145164282228
Kilkenny132154138182120
Laois201207218353842
Leitrim1,1931,129997172179176
Limerick616677664424748
Londonderry3337—23—
Longford213209177464845
Louth234256253364141
Mayo798777739404043
Meath205180194292831
Monaghan414654668
Offaly371339341626065
Roscommon1,0561,030880105110105
Sligo523536528656874
Tipperary545540553343539
Tyrone1318—11—
Waterford1,3691,2281,170157149150
Westmeath303304367495165
Wexford244301252242927
Wicklow117110113201820

Local strongholds in 1911

District Electoral Divisions (300+ residents) where Flynns made up the largest share of the population. In Carrowreagh, Co. Roscommon, about one resident in 7 was a Flynn.

DEDCountyFlynnsShare
CarrowreaghRoscommon87 13.6%
St. Patrick'sLeitrim72 10.5%
AltagowlanRoscommon38 9.5%
Lough AllenRoscommon60 7.9%
LeitrimCork29 7.8%
AghafinRoscommon44 7.1%
Drumreilly EastLeitrim26 6.8%
BallyheanMayo43 6.6%

Origins

Septs & territories

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

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

Ó Floinn of Síol Maolruain

Síol Maolruain, around Kiltullagh and part of Kilkeevin parishes · Roscommon

Chiefs of a west Roscommon district which took in Kiltullagh parish and part of Kilkeevin. Woulfe names the O'Flynns as the chief family of Síol Maolruain, a branch of the Uí Briúin. Lough O'Flynn, the source of the River Suck, carries the family name. A separate O'Flynn family were erenaghs of St Dachonna's church at Eas Uí Fhloinn, a little west of Boyle.[1][8][9]

Ó Floinn of Tirawley

Magh hEleog, in the parish of Crossmolina · Mayo

A north Mayo family seated in the parish of Crossmolina. One branch held the hereditary office of erenagh at St Tighearnán's church and monastery at Errew, on Lough Conn. Wikipedia adds that the Errew O'Flynns came to hold a paten said to have belonged to the saint.[1][10]

Ó Floinn of Ardagh

Uí Baghamhna (Ibane), south-west Cork · Cork

A branch of the Corca Laoighdhe, the people of the O'Driscolls, who in early times ruled Uí Baghamhna, later the barony of Ibane. Their chief lived at Ardagh Castle, between Skibbereen and Baltimore. Wikipedia lists 'O'Flynn Arda' as a cadet branch of the Corcu Loígde.[1][11][12]

Ó Floinn of Muskerry

Muscraidhe Uí Fhloinn (Muskerrylinn), between Blarney and Ballyvourney · Cork

Lords of a large district in the barony of Muskerry, named after them. Woulfe says they held it until around the start of the 14th century, when the MacCarthys of Blarney displaced them.[1][13]

Ó Floinn (Ó Loinn) of Uí Tuirtre

Uí Tuirtre, including the Toome baronies of Co. Antrim · Antrim, Derry

An Ulster family whose name was usually heard as Ó Loinn, giving O'Lynn and Lynn. Woulfe places their lordship in the Toome baronies of Antrim from the mid-11th to the late 14th century. Wikipedia notes a base on a crannog near Desertmartin, which gave the barony of Loughinsholin its name.[4][14]

The name over time

History

Five families, one name

Flann was a popular early Irish personal name, meaning red or ruddy, and several unconnected families took their surname from an ancestor so called. Woulfe picks out five: the O'Flynns of Síol Maolruain in Roscommon, of Tirawley in Mayo, of Ardagh in south-west Cork, of Muskerry in mid Cork, and of Uí Tuirtre in Ulster. He found all of them still well represented in their home districts in the early 20th century. The surname of a Flynn family is therefore a weak clue to its origin; the county it came from tells far more.[1][7]

The Connacht O'Flynns

In west Roscommon the O'Flynns headed Síol Maolruain, a branch of the Uí Briúin whose district covered Kiltullagh and part of Kilkeevin. The lake at Ballinlough, Lough O'Flynn, is named after them. Other O'Flynns had church roles. One family were erenaghs, hereditary keepers of church land, at Eas Uí Fhloinn near Boyle, and in Mayo a branch of the Tirawley O'Flynns served the monastery of St Tighearnán at Errew on Lough Conn, where they later held a paten associated with the saint.[1][8][9][10]

The Cork O'Flynns

Cork had two O'Flynn lordships. In the south-west, the O'Flynns of Ardagh belonged to the Corca Laoighdhe, the kindred of the O'Driscolls, and were once chiefs of Uí Baghamhna, the later barony of Ibane; their head lived at Ardagh Castle near Baltimore. Inland, another family ruled Muscraidhe Uí Fhloinn, a stretch of country between Blarney and Ballyvourney that kept their name as Muskerrylinn. Woulfe dates their loss of it to about the beginning of the 14th century, when the MacCarthys of Blarney took over.[1][11][13]

The O'Lynns of Uí Tuirtre

In Ulster the name took a different shape. When the F of Ó Floinn was aspirated it fell silent, leaving Ó Loinn, anglicised O'Lynn or Lynn. This family led Uí Tuirtre for roughly three centuries from the mid-1000s. Woulfe records that they beat back John de Courcy in 1177 and kept their independence for about two hundred years more, but they vanish from the record after 1368. Wikipedia notes that by the 1350s the Clandeboye O'Neills had spread over all of Uí Tuirtre.[4][14]

Flynn, Glynn and Lynn

Because Irish softens the initial F after certain words, the name has several English outcomes. Ó Floinn gave Flynn and O'Flynn; the softened Ó Loinn gave Lynn; and the related Mac Floinn and Mag Fhloinn, 'son of Flann', gave MacGlynn and Glynn, which Woulfe found fairly common in Connacht and Ulster. Wikipedia lists Flinn, Lynn and McGlynn among the variants of Flynn, though most families of these spellings belong to separate lines.[1][4][6][5][7]

Places linked to the name

  • Lough O'Flynn (Loch Uí Fhloinn), Co. Roscommon — Lake near Ballinlough, source of the River Suck, named after the O'Flynns of Síol Maolruain.[9][8]
  • Errew Abbey, Co. Mayo — Monastery of St Tighearnán on Lough Conn, where a branch of the Tirawley O'Flynns were erenaghs.[1][10]
  • Crossmolina, Co. Mayo — Parish containing Magh hEleog, seat of the O'Flynns of Tirawley.[1]
  • Ibane and Barryroe, Co. Cork — Barony whose Ibane half was Uí Baghamhna, once ruled by the O'Flynns of Ardagh.[1][12]
  • Muskerry, Co. Cork — Region containing Muscraidhe Uí Fhloinn, the O'Flynn lordship between Blarney and Ballyvourney.[1][13]
  • Toome, Co. Antrim — Gives its name to the Toome baronies, where Woulfe places the O'Lynns of Uí Tuirtre.[4]

Everyday lives

The Flynns in the census

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

Flynns All of Ireland Ireland's figure marked on the Flynn bar

Religion, 1911

Catholic +24.4 points vs Ireland
Flynns 98.0%
All of Ireland 73.6%
Church of Ireland −11.6 points vs Ireland
Flynns 1.6%
All of Ireland 13.2%
Presbyterian −10.0 points vs Ireland
Flynns 0.1%
All of Ireland 10.1%
Methodist & other −2.9 points vs Ireland
Flynns 0.2%
All of Ireland 3.1%

Irish language

Spoke Irish, 1901 +5.4 points vs Ireland
Flynns 20.7%
All of Ireland 15.3%
Spoke Irish, 1911 +3.0 points vs Ireland
Flynns 16.5%
All of Ireland 13.5%
Spoke Irish, 1926 · 26 counties about the same as Ireland
Flynns 13.1%
All of Ireland 13.5%

63 Flynns spoke Irish only in 1901.

Reading & writing

Could read and write, 1901 · aged 15+ −0.8 points vs Ireland
Flynns 79.6%
All of Ireland 80.4%
Could read and write, 1911 · aged 15+ −0.9 points vs Ireland
Flynns 84.9%
All of Ireland 85.8%

Family life, 1911

Household size · 2,871 households about the same as Ireland
Flynns 4.83
All of Ireland 4.83
Children born per mother · women 45–59 higher than Ireland
Flynns 6.86
All of Ireland 6.46
Children still living +1.0 points vs Ireland
Flynns 80.8%
All of Ireland 79.8%

Commonest occupations

Adults aged 15+, 1901 and 1911 combined.

Farmer2,739
Farmer's son1,347
Farmer's daughter688
Agricultural labourer539
General labourer475
Farm servant428
Labourer371
Farm labourer348
House keeper302
Domestic servant284

Born outside Ireland

1.4% of Flynns in 1911 gave a birthplace outside Ireland.

England94
Scotland46
United States36
Australia & NZ7
Wales5
India4

Median age: 23 in 1901, 25 in 1911.

Given names

First names among the Flynns

Men and boys

  1. John3,192
  2. Patrick2,606
  3. Michael1,959
  4. James1,797
  5. Thomas1,578
  6. William937
  7. Peter439
  8. Edward398
  9. Joseph389
  10. Daniel346

Women and girls

  1. Mary3,451
  2. Bridget1,828
  3. Margaret1,294
  4. Ellen1,113
  5. Kate834
  6. Catherine787
  7. Annie585
  8. Anne534
  9. Elizabeth403
  10. Maggie370

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

Spellings

Spellings

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

Spelling190119111926Records
Flynn13,56713,37412,445Search
O'Flynn343533772Search
Flynne28917126Search

Related forms

  • O'Flynn — The form keeping the Ó prefix, given by Woulfe alongside Flynn.[1]
  • Flinn — An older English spelling of Ó Floinn.[1][7]
  • O'Lynn, Lynn — From Ó Loinn, the softened form used by the Uí Tuirtre family in Ulster.[4]
  • MacGlynn, Glynn — From Mag Fhloinn, 'son of Flann', a related but separate surname.[6][5]
  • Ó Floinn — The Irish form; the musician Liam O'Flynn used Liam Ó Floinn, and the writer Críostóir Ó Floinn wrote in English as O'Flynn.[2][15][16]

Diaspora

The Flynns abroad

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

SpellingPeopleUS rank
Flynn63,400534th
O'Flynn68233450th

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

Heraldry

Is there a Flynn coat of arms?

Arms belonged to particular families, so there is no single Flynn crest. Burke's General Armory records arms for an O'Flynn sept of Munster whose chief lived at Ardagh Castle in Co. Cork: on blue, a silver wolf passing, with three gold roundels above, and for a crest a hand holding a serpent. He also lists different arms under O'Flynn and for two named individuals, Phelim and Neil Flynn, but gives no motto.[17]

Websites selling a single “Flynn 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 Flynn

  • Edmund James Flynn (1847–1927)
    Lawyer and politician who was premier of Quebec from 1896 to 1897.
  • William J. Flynn (1867–1928)
    American investigator and director of the Bureau of Investigation, forerunner of the FBI, 1919–1921.
  • John Flynn (1880–1951)
    Australian Presbyterian minister who founded what became the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
  • Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1890–1964)
    American labour organiser with the Industrial Workers of the World and a feminist campaigner.
  • Edward J. Flynn (1891–1953)
    Democratic party leader in the Bronx and a close ally of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
  • Errol Flynn (1909–1959)
    Australian-born Hollywood star of the 1930s and 1940s, famed for swashbuckling roles.
  • Críostóir Ó Floinn (1927–2023)
    Limerick-born writer of more than fifty books in Irish and English.
  • James Flynn (1934–2020)
    New Zealand intelligence researcher after whom the Flynn effect is named.
  • Raymond Flynn (born 1939)
    Mayor of Boston from 1984 to 1993 and later US ambassador to the Holy See.
  • Pádraig Flynn (born 1939)
    Fianna Fáil minister and European Commissioner for Social Affairs, 1993–1999.
  • Liam O'Flynn (1945–2018)
    Uilleann piper and traditional musician, a member of the group Planxty.
  • Gillian Flynn (born 1971)
    American novelist and screenwriter, author of Gone Girl.

Questions

Questions about the Flynn name

Is Flynn an Irish surname?

Yes. Flynn and O'Flynn come from the Gaelic Ó Floinn, 'descendant of Flann'. Woulfe describes several separate families of the name: in Roscommon, in Tirawley in Mayo, at Ardagh in south-west Cork, in Muskerry in mid Cork, and in Uí Tuirtre in Ulster, where it usually became O'Lynn.[1][4]

What is Flynn in Irish?

Ó Floinn, meaning 'descendant of Flann'. Gaois gives Ó Floinn as the standard Irish form of both Flynn and O'Flynn, and the piper Liam O'Flynn was Liam Ó Floinn in Irish. In parts of Ulster the same name appears as Ó Loinn, because the initial F was softened until it disappeared.[2][1][4][15]

What does the name Flynn mean?

It means 'descendant of Flann'. Flann was an early Irish personal name meaning red or ruddy, and Wikipedia describes it as a byname for someone with a reddish complexion. The surname records descent from a particular man of that name, not the colouring of later family members.[1][7]

Are Flynn and O'Flynn the same name?

Yes. Both are English renderings of Ó Floinn, one keeping the O and one dropping it. Woulfe gives O'Flynn, Flynn and Flinn together as forms of the one surname, and Wikipedia treats O'Flynn as a variant of Flynn, so the same family can appear under either spelling in different records.[1][7]

Is there a Flynn family crest or coat of arms?

Not one for everyone named Flynn. Burke's General Armory records arms for an O'Flynn sept of Munster whose chief lived at Ardagh Castle in Co. Cork, showing a silver wolf on blue with three gold roundels above. He lists other, different arms under the same name, which shows that arms belonged to particular families.[17]

Where does the Flynn name come from?

From several places. The O'Flynns ruled Síol Maolruain in west Roscommon, held land in Crossmolina parish in Mayo, ruled Ibane in south-west Cork and part of Muskerry in mid Cork, and, as the O'Lynns, led Uí Tuirtre in south Ulster. A family's county is the best guide to which of these it descends from.[1][4]

Where in Ireland is the Flynn surname most common?

In the 1911 census the largest numbers of Flynns lived in Cork (2,086), Waterford (1,228), Dublin (1,166). Relative to population, the name was most concentrated in Leitrim (179 per 10,000), Waterford (149 per 10,000), Roscommon (110 per 10,000).

How common was the Flynn surname in Ireland?

14,078 people were recorded as Flynn or O'Flynn or Flynne in the 1911 census of Ireland, making it the 33rd most common surname. That is roughly 0.3% of the population, or 1 person in 312.

Looking for a Flynn ancestor?

Search every Flynn 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 Floinn, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  2. Gaois research group, Dublin City University, Sloinnte na hÉireann (Gaois surnames database) (2022)
  3. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Flainn, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  4. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Loinn, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  5. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Floinn, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  6. Patrick Woulfe, Mag Fhloinn, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  7. Wikipedia, Flynn (surname) (2026)
  8. Patrick Woulfe, Síol Maolruain, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  9. Wikipedia, Lough O'Flynn (2026)
  10. Wikipedia, Errew Abbey (2026)
  11. Wikipedia, Corcu Loígde (2026)
  12. Wikipedia, Ibane and Barryroe (2026)
  13. Wikipedia, Muskerry (2026)
  14. Wikipedia, Uí Tuirtri (2026)
  15. Wikipedia, Liam O'Flynn (2026)
  16. Wikipedia, Críostóir Ó Floinn (2026)
  17. Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884). Entries 'O'Flynn (a Sept in Munster…)', 'O'Flynn', 'O'Flynn (Phelim Flynn)' and 'O'Flynn (Neil Flynn)'.
  18. 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.

How we compile these figures: methodology.