surnames.ie

Irish surname · 56th most common in 1911

Kavanagh

Also spelt Cavanagh

Kavanagh, also spelled Cavanagh, comes from the Irish Caomhánach, 'of Caomhán'. It began as a byname of Domhnall, son of Diarmait Mac Murchada, king of Leinster, who was fostered at St Caomhán's church at Kilcavan near Gorey. His descendants, the MacMurrough Kavanaghs, ruled much of Carlow and Wexford.

Irish CaomhánachIrish Mac Murchadha CaomhánachIrish Ó CaomháinIrish Ó Caomhánaigh
1901 census
9,980
#60 · 23 per 10,000
1911 census
10,110
#56 · 23 per 10,000
1926 census
9,602
#44 · 32 per 10,000
Most numerous
Dublin
Highest share: Wicklow

Language & meaning

Meaning & Irish forms

Gaelic Gaelic Irish: a branch of the MacMurrough kings of Leinster, of the Uí Cheinnselaig dynasty, named after a 12th-century prince's fosterage; some Munster Kavanaghs are instead of the Connacht Ó Caomháin.[1][2][3]

Caomhánach
“of, or belonging to, Caomhán”[1][4][5]
An adjectival surname with no Ó or Mac, unusual in Irish. The Gaois dataset pairs it with both Kavanagh and Cavanagh.
Mac Murchadha Caomhánach
“MacMurrough of St Caomhán's”[6][7]
Woulfe gives this as the style of the head of the family, the MacMurrough Kavanagh.
Ó Caomháin
“descendant of Caomhán”[3]
A separate Connacht surname. Woulfe says that in West Munster it is usually anglicised Kavanagh or Cavanagh.
Ó Caomhánaigh
“descendant of Caomhánach”[8][1]
Woulfe regarded it as a modern spoken variant of Ó Caomháin in Connacht and West Munster, and as a mistaken form when applied to the Leinster Caomhánach. He found no early instance of it.

The name is built on the personal name Caomhán, usually explained as “a diminutive of caomh, a word for 'dear', 'gentle' or 'fair'”. Woulfe calls Caomhán a diminutive of Caomh. Wikipedia lists meanings of caomh including friend, companion, noble, fair and handsome. Burke glosses Domhnall's byname as 'the Handsome', but Woulfe and Wikipedia tie it to his fosterage at St Caomhán's church.[3][9][10][1]

Pronunciation

Kavanagh: KAV-uh-nah

Caomhánach: KEE-waw-nukh /ˈkiːwaːnˠəx/[9]

Place

Where the Kavanaghs 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: 12 per 10,000 (203 people) Waterford: 21.4 per 10,000 (176 people) Dublin: 64.8 per 10,000 (3,110 people) Kilkenny: 47.8 per 10,000 (359 people) Carlow: 131 per 10,000 (476 people) Limerick: 10 per 10,000 (143 people) Louth: 18.4 per 10,000 (116 people) Tipperary: 17.6 per 10,000 (269 people) Roscommon: 5.7 per 10,000 (54 people) Meath: 20.7 per 10,000 (135 people) Wicklow: 166.8 per 10,000 (1,015 people) Cavan: 5.8 per 10,000 (53 people) Cork: 5.5 per 10,000 (216 people) Clare: 2.1 per 10,000 (22 people) Galway: 16.9 per 10,000 (308 people) Mayo: 11.8 per 10,000 (227 people) Sligo: 12.8 per 10,000 (101 people) Leitrim: 4.8 per 10,000 (30 people) Offaly: 18.8 per 10,000 (107 people) Laois: 82.8 per 10,000 (453 people) Kildare: 60.4 per 10,000 (404 people) Kerry: 10.9 per 10,000 (175 people) Monaghan: 12 per 10,000 (86 people) Wexford: 124 per 10,000 (1,270 people) Longford: 7.1 per 10,000 (31 people) Westmeath: 11.5 per 10,000 (69 people) Tyrone: 8.3 per 10,000 (119 people) Antrim: 3.5 per 10,000 (165 people) Armagh: 4.9 per 10,000 (59 people) Fermanagh: 3.3 per 10,000 (20 people) Londonderry: 6.4 per 10,000 (90 people) Down: 1.6 per 10,000 (49 people)
fewerup to 167 per 10,000

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

Highest concentration · 1911

Wicklow

167 per 10,000

1,015 Kavanaghs · 7.24× the national share

Highest share, 1911

  1. Wicklow 167
  2. Carlow 131
  3. Wexford 124
  4. Laois 83
  5. Dublin 65
  6. Kildare 60
  7. Kilkenny 48
  8. Waterford 21

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
Antrim104165—24—
Armagh5159—45—
Carlow504476462135131135
Cavan635335764
Clare192214222
Cork200216261567
Donegal173203216101214
Down6249—22—
Dublin2,7673,1103,292636566
Fermanagh2620—43—
Galway327308309171718
Kerry278175200171113
Kildare422404379696066
Kilkenny361359383484854
Laois448453399788378
Leitrim283035456
Limerick13014314491010
Londonderry8590—66—
Longford373132878
Louth10711694161815
Mayo262227207131212
Meath126135164182126
Monaghan968698131215
Offaly127107110211921
Roscommon625458667
Sligo122101116151316
Tipperary269269276171820
Tyrone140119—98—
Waterford195176165222121
Westmeath826966131212
Wexford1,3491,2701,191130124125
Wicklow9581,015896160167157

Local strongholds in 1911

District Electoral Divisions (300+ residents) where Kavanaghs made up the largest share of the population. In Myshall, Co. Carlow, about one resident in 9 was a Kavanagh.

DEDCountyKavanaghsShare
MyshallCarlow45 11.2%
BallybrittasLaois49 7.7%
KilgormanWexford36 7.5%
KyleCarlow32 6.5%
BallylarkinWexford30 6.2%
BalloughterWexford29 5.8%
LimerickWexford32 5.8%
KilnahueWexford19 5.8%

Origins

Septs & territories

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

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

Caomhánach (MacMurrough Kavanagh) of Leinster

the Uí Cheinnselaig lands of the south-east, later known as 'the Kavanagh's country' · Carlow, Wexford

Descended from Domhnall Caomhánach, eldest son of Diarmait Mac Murchada. Woulfe says the family's patrimony lay in Carlow and Wexford and that its head was styled Mac Murchadha Caomhánach. Wikipedia says most later Kavanagh branches descend from Art Óg, king of Leinster, who died in 1417.[1][6][9][2]

Kavanagh of Borris

Borris and St Mullins · Carlow

Burke traces this line from Art Buidhe Kavanagh of St Mullins, a descendant of Art Óg through Gerald, lord of Ferns. Cahir mac Art, Art Buidhe's son, was made baron of Ballyanne for life in 1554. Borris House remains the family seat.[10][11][12]

Kavanagh of Clonmullen

Clonmullen · Carlow

Burke describes the Clonmullen line, also from Gerald, lord of Ferns, as the line of Donel Spaniagh Kavanagh. Wikipedia calls this Domhnall Spáinneach the last king of Leinster, and places his family's lands in the Blackstairs Mountains north of Enniscorthy.[10][13]

Kavanagh of Garryhill

Garryhill · Carlow

Burke derives this line from Donel Mór Kavanagh, a son of Art Óg, and says its chiefs kept the old crown of Leinster despite losing their lands, until it was lost in France during the Revolution.[10]

Ó Caomháin of Uí Fiachrach

the Uí Fiachrach country · Sligo, Mayo

An unrelated family of the Uí Fiachrach whose privilege was to inaugurate O'Dowd as chief. Woulfe says some had moved to Westmeath, Offaly and Kilkenny by 1600, and that in West Munster the name became Kavanagh or Cavanagh.[3]

The name over time

History

A byname that became a surname

Most Irish surnames name an ancestor with Ó or Mac, but Kavanagh describes one. Its first bearer, Domhnall, son of Diarmait Mac Murchada, was fostered by the comarb, or successor, of St Caomhán at Kilcavan near Gorey, and so was called Caomhánach, 'of Caomhán'. Woulfe stresses that, against normal practice, his descendants kept the byname as their surname for centuries. Wikipedia's Caomhánach article instead links the saint with Cóemgen (Kevin), and Burke reads the name as 'the Handsome', so the explanation is not quite settled.[1][14][9][10]

Domhnall and the kingship of Leinster

The Kavanaghs are a branch of the Uí Cheinnselaig, the Leinster dynasty whose centre moved from the Rathvilly area to Ferns, and of its Mac Murchada line. When Diarmait died in 1171, some chiefs proclaimed Domhnall king of Leinster. The Normans rejected his claim, since Diarmait had promised Leinster to Strongbow on his marriage to Domhnall's sister Aoife. Domhnall was killed in 1175, and was buried near his father at Ferns.[2][14][15]

Art MacMurrough Kavanagh

The best-known Kavanagh king was Art Óg Mac Murchadha Caomhánach, who ruled for some 42 years and is usually seen as the most formidable of the later kings of Leinster. He restored the dynasty's lands and power and even received 'black rent' from the English Crown. Richard II spent much of 1394 and 1395 trying to subdue him; Art submitted but renounced his fealty once the king had gone. His marriage to the Anglo-Norman heiress Elizabeth le Veel broke the Statutes of Kilkenny, and her lands were forfeited. He died around the end of 1417, either at Ferns or, by another account, poisoned at New Ross.[16][9][17]

The Tudor decline

In the 16th century the chiefs kept the style of Mac Murchadha, but their power was waning. Cahir mac Art Kavanagh, the MacMurrough and lord of St Mullins, was made baron of Ballyanne for life in 1554. Wikipedia notes that an Art Kavanagh, an associate of Hugh O'Neill, took part in the escape from Dublin Castle in 1590, and says the family's power was broken by the early 17th century. Domhnall Spáinneach, counted as the last king of Leinster, submitted at the end of the Nine Years' War in 1603 and died in 1632.[12][10][9][13]

Kavanaghs in Europe

After the defeat of Gaelic Ireland many Kavanaghs became officers in the armies of France, Spain and Austria. Wikipedia names Charles Kavanagh as military governor of Prague in 1766, and notes Kavanagh officers in France's Irish Brigade. Burke records arms confirmed in 1768 to Nicholas Kavanagh of Nantes, son of an Irish Brigade captain, and in 1774 to John Baptist Kavanagh, baron of Gniditz in Bohemia, as well as to a Kavanagh in Austrian service in 1825.[9][10]

Borris and the MacMurrough title

At home the senior surviving line was the Kavanaghs of Borris, Co. Carlow, who still live at Borris House. Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh, born there in 1831 with only partial arms and legs, succeeded to the estates and the title of The MacMurrough in 1851. He rode, travelled widely, sat as MP for Wexford and then Carlow, and developed a sawmill, lace-making and a railway viaduct at Borris. His son Walter also held the title and represented Carlow in Parliament.[18][11][10]

Places linked to the name

  • Kilcavan, Co. Wexford — Church of St Caomhán near Gorey, where Domhnall was fostered and from which the family took its name.[1][14]
  • Ferns, Co. Wexford — Centre of the Uí Cheinnselaig kings, where Domhnall Caomhánach was buried near his father.[2][14]
  • Borris (An Bhuiríos), Co. Carlow — Village on the Barrow and home of Borris House, seat of the MacMurrough Kavanaghs.[11]
  • St Mullins (Tigh Moling), Co. Carlow — Lordship of Cahir mac Art and of Art Buidhe Kavanagh, ancestor of the Borris line.[12][10]
  • New Ross, Co. Wexford — Town where, by one account, Art Óg MacMurrough Kavanagh was poisoned in 1417.[16]

Everyday lives

The Kavanaghs in the census

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

Kavanaghs All of Ireland Ireland's figure marked on the Kavanagh bar

Religion, 1911

Catholic +24.2 points vs Ireland
Kavanaghs 97.8%
All of Ireland 73.6%
Church of Ireland −11.3 points vs Ireland
Kavanaghs 1.9%
All of Ireland 13.2%
Presbyterian −10.0 points vs Ireland
Kavanaghs 0.1%
All of Ireland 10.1%
Methodist & other −2.9 points vs Ireland
Kavanaghs 0.2%
All of Ireland 3.1%

Irish language

Spoke Irish, 1901 −7.3 points vs Ireland
Kavanaghs 8.0%
All of Ireland 15.3%
Spoke Irish, 1911 −6.6 points vs Ireland
Kavanaghs 6.9%
All of Ireland 13.5%
Spoke Irish, 1926 · 26 counties −5.4 points vs Ireland
Kavanaghs 8.1%
All of Ireland 13.5%

72 Kavanaghs spoke Irish only in 1901.

Reading & writing

Could read and write, 1901 · aged 15+ +1.3 points vs Ireland
Kavanaghs 81.7%
All of Ireland 80.4%
Could read and write, 1911 · aged 15+ +1.6 points vs Ireland
Kavanaghs 87.4%
All of Ireland 85.8%

Family life, 1911

Household size · 2,085 households about the same as Ireland
Kavanaghs 4.83
All of Ireland 4.83
Children born per mother · women 45–59 higher than Ireland
Kavanaghs 6.6
All of Ireland 6.46
Children still living −4.7 points vs Ireland
Kavanaghs 75.1%
All of Ireland 79.8%

Commonest occupations

Adults aged 15+, 1901 and 1911 combined.

Farmer1,357
Farmer's son658
General labourer430
Agricultural labourer412
Farmer's daughter399
Labourer313
Farm servant276
Domestic servant233
House keeper210
Housekeeper154

Born outside Ireland

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

England89
Scotland23
United States21
India5
Wales4
Canada1

Median age: 23 in 1901, 25 in 1911.

Given names

First names among the Kavanaghs

Men and boys

  1. John2,046
  2. James1,671
  3. Patrick1,666
  4. Thomas1,122
  5. Michael1,088
  6. William706
  7. Edward467
  8. Joseph384
  9. Peter358
  10. Martin257

Women and girls

  1. Mary2,489
  2. Bridget1,026
  3. Margaret911
  4. Annie688
  5. Ellen660
  6. Elizabeth599
  7. Catherine569
  8. Kate492
  9. Anne426
  10. Sarah306

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

Spellings

Spellings

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

Spelling190119111926Records
Kavanagh8,4438,6868,604Search
Cavanagh1,5371,424998Search

Related forms

  • Cavanagh — The most common alternative spelling in Ireland, given equal standing with Kavanagh by Woulfe and Gaois.[1][4][5]
  • Kavanaugh, Cavanaugh — Spellings with a 'u', which Wikipedia says appear to have arisen in the United States.[5]
  • MacMurrough Kavanagh — The style of the head of the family, from Mac Murchadha Caomhánach.[6]
  • O'Kavanagh, MacCavanagh — O'Kavanagh is a mistaken addition of a prefix, according to Wikipedia; MacCavanagh represents the rare Mac Caomhánaigh.[5][19]
  • Kevane, Keevan, Keaveny — Related Connacht and Munster names from Ó Caomháin and Ó Caomhánaigh, which also gave Kavanagh in West Munster.[3][8]

Diaspora

The Kavanaghs abroad

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

SpellingPeopleUS rank
Kavanagh5,3016414th
Cavanagh4,0868114th

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

Heraldry

Is there a Kavanagh coat of arms?

Arms belonged to particular families rather than to everyone named Kavanagh. Burke records for the Kavanaghs of Borris a silver shield with a red lion passant above two red crescents, and a crest of a sheaf of corn rising from a crescent, with the Irish motto 'Síothchain agus fairsinge' ('Peace and plenty'). The same arms appear for other branches with different mottoes, including 'Virtus sola nobilitat' for the Nantes family. Burke gives the MacMurrough kings of Leinster three gold sheaves on black.[10][9]

Websites selling a single “Kavanagh 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 Kavanagh

  • Domhnall Caomhánach (died 1175)
    Son of Diarmait Mac Murchada and first to bear the name; king of Leinster 1171–1175.
  • Art Óg MacMurrough Kavanagh (1357–1417)
    King of Leinster who resisted Richard II's two expeditions to Ireland.
  • Cahir mac Art Kavanagh (died 1554)
    The MacMurrough and lord of St Mullins, made baron of Ballyanne under the Tudors.
  • Domhnall Spáinneach MacMurrough Kavanagh (died 1632)
    Reckoned the last king of Leinster; submitted at the end of the Nine Years' War.
  • Morgan Kavanagh (c. 1799–1874)
    Poet, novelist and writer on philology who left Ireland for London and Paris.
  • Julia Kavanagh (1824–1877)
    Thurles-born Victorian novelist who also wrote notable non-fiction.
  • Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh (1831–1889)
    Born without full limbs, he became a horseman, traveller and MP for Wexford and Carlow.
  • Rose Kavanagh (1859–1891)
    Irish editor, writer and poet of the late 19th century.
  • Ernest Kavanagh (1884–1916)
    Dublin cartoonist for political papers, killed during the Easter Rising.
  • Patrick Kavanagh (1904–1967)
    Poet and novelist, author of The Great Hunger, 'On Raglan Road' and Tarry Flynn.
  • Liam Kavanagh (1935–2021)
    Labour Party TD for Wicklow from 1969 to 1997 and a former MEP.
  • Niamh Kavanagh (born 1968)
    Singer who won the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with 'In Your Eyes'.

Questions

Questions about the Kavanagh name

Is Kavanagh an Irish surname?

Yes. Kavanagh is the English form of Caomhánach, the surname of a branch of the MacMurrough kings of Leinster descended from Domhnall Caomhánach, son of Diarmait Mac Murchada. The family's lands were in Carlow and Wexford. Some Kavanaghs in West Munster have a different Irish origin, in the Connacht name Ó Caomháin.[1][14][3]

Why does Kavanagh have no O or Mac?

Because it began as a descriptive byname, not as a 'son of' or 'descendant of' name. Caomhánach means 'of Caomhán', and was given to Domhnall because he was fostered at St Caomhán's church at Kilcavan. His descendants kept it as a surname, which Woulfe calls contrary to usual Irish practice. Forms such as Ó Caomhánaigh and O'Kavanagh are later errors.[1][5][14]

What is Kavanagh in Irish?

Caomhánach, used without any prefix. The head of the family was styled Mac Murchadha Caomhánach, 'MacMurrough of St Caomhán's'. The Gaois surname dataset gives Caomhánach as the Irish for both Kavanagh and Cavanagh. Woulfe warns that Ó Caomhánaigh, sometimes used for it by modern writers, is a mistake.[1][6][4]

How do you pronounce Kavanagh?

In English it is usually 'KAV-uh-nah', with the stress on the first syllable and a silent 'gh', as in the name of the singer Niamh Kavanagh. The Irish form Caomhánach sounds quite different, roughly 'KEE-waw-nukh'; Wikipedia gives the IPA ['kiːwaːnˠəx].[20][9]

Are Kavanagh, Cavanagh and Kavanaugh the same name?

Yes. All are English spellings of Caomhánach. Woulfe heads his entry with Cavanagh and Kavanagh together, and both were long established in Ireland, while the spellings with a 'u', Kavanaugh and Cavanaugh, appear to have developed in the United States, according to Wikipedia.[5][1][4]

Is there a Kavanagh family crest or coat of arms?

Not one for every Kavanagh. Burke records arms for particular branches, above all the Kavanaghs of Borris: a red lion passant over two red crescents on silver, a crest of a sheaf rising from a crescent, and the Irish motto 'Síothchain agus fairsinge' ('Peace and plenty'). Other branches used the same shield with different mottoes.[10]

Where does the Kavanagh family come from?

From south Leinster. The name was born at Kilcavan near Gorey, Co. Wexford, and the family's heartland lay in Carlow and Wexford, with centres at Ferns, St Mullins, Clonmullen and Borris. Borris House in Co. Carlow is still the seat of the MacMurrough Kavanaghs.[1][2][10][11]

Where in Ireland is the Kavanagh surname most common?

In the 1911 census the largest numbers of Kavanaghs lived in Dublin (3,110), Wexford (1,270), Wicklow (1,015). Relative to population, the name was most concentrated in Wicklow (167 per 10,000), Carlow (131 per 10,000), Wexford (124 per 10,000).

How common was the Kavanagh surname in Ireland?

10,110 people were recorded as Kavanagh or Cavanagh in the 1911 census of Ireland, making it the 56th most common surname. That is roughly 0.2% of the population, or 1 person in 435.

Looking for a Kavanagh ancestor?

Search every Kavanagh 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, Caomhánach, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  2. Wikipedia, Uí Ceinnselaig (2026)
  3. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Caomháin, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  4. Gaois research group, Dublin City University, Sloinnte: Irish surname dataset (version 2) (2022)
  5. Wikipedia, Kavanagh (surname) (2026)
  6. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Murchadha Caomhánach, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  7. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Murchadha, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  8. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Caomhánaigh, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  9. Wikipedia, Caomhánach (2026)
  10. Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884). The Kavanagh entries (Ireland; Clonmullen; Nantes; Borris; Baron Ballyanne; Ballyleigh and Bohemia; Austria and Bath) and 'Cavanagh'.
  11. Wikipedia, Borris, County Carlow (2026)
  12. Wikipedia, Cahir mac Art Kavanagh (2026)
  13. Wikipedia, Domhnall Spáinneach Mac Murchadha Caomhánach (2026)
  14. Wikipedia, Domhnall Caomhánach (2026)
  15. Wikipedia, Diarmait Mac Murchada (2026)
  16. Wikipedia, Art Óg Mac Murchadha Caomhánach (2026)
  17. Wikipedia, Statutes of Kilkenny (2026)
  18. Wikipedia, Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh (2026)
  19. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Caomhánaigh, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  20. Wikipedia, Niamh Kavanagh (2026)
  21. 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.