surnames.ie

Irish surname · 40th most common in 1911

Maguire

Also spelt McGuire, MacGuire

Maguire, also spelt McGuire and MacGuire, comes from the Irish Mag Uidhir, 'son of Odhar', a name meaning dun-coloured or pale. The Maguires ruled Fermanagh from the late 13th century until the Plantation of Ulster, and the name is still closely tied to the county.

Irish Mag UidhirIrish Mac UidhirIrish Mac Guibhir
1901 census
13,200
#39 · 30 per 10,000
1911 census
12,738
#40 · 29 per 10,000
1926 census
8,442
#56 · 29 per 10,000
Most numerous
Fermanagh
Highest share: Fermanagh

Language & meaning

Meaning & Irish forms

Gaelic Gaelic Irish: the ruling family of Fermanagh, of the Airgíalla (Oriel) group of peoples, with McGuire and MacGuire as alternative spellings of the same name.[1][2][3]

Mag Uidhir
“son of Odhar”[1][2]
Woulfe's headword, and the source of the commonest English spelling, Maguire. Connor Maguire, 2nd Baron of Enniskillen, appears in Irish as Conchobhar Mag Uidhir.
Mac Uidhir
“son of Odhar”[2][4]
The spelling Wikipedia uses. A daughter is Nic Uidhir, and Sam Maguire's Irish name is given as Sam Mhic Uidhir.
Mac Guibhir
“dialect pronunciation”[1][2]
Woulfe notes this dialect pronunciation of the name, and Wikipedia says south-west Donegal renders it this way.

The name is built on the personal name Odhar, usually explained as “dun-coloured, pale or sallow”. Woulfe glosses odhar as 'pale, dun-coloured'; Wikipedia gives 'sallow' or 'pale-faced'. Wikipedia names the eponym as Odhar mac Cearnaigh, placed in the 10th century.[1][2]

Pronunciation

Maguire: muh-GWIRE

Place

Where the Maguires 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: 29.9 per 10,000 (505 people) Waterford: 9.1 per 10,000 (75 people) Dublin: 33.6 per 10,000 (1,612 people) Kilkenny: 10.3 per 10,000 (77 people) Carlow: 7.7 per 10,000 (28 people) Limerick: 10.5 per 10,000 (151 people) Louth: 67.2 per 10,000 (423 people) Tipperary: 5.2 per 10,000 (79 people) Roscommon: 27.7 per 10,000 (260 people) Meath: 63.5 per 10,000 (414 people) Wicklow: 15.3 per 10,000 (93 people) Cavan: 135.1 per 10,000 (1,234 people) Cork: 7.9 per 10,000 (311 people) Clare: 13.7 per 10,000 (143 people) Galway: 8.6 per 10,000 (157 people) Mayo: 30.4 per 10,000 (585 people) Sligo: 13.1 per 10,000 (104 people) Leitrim: 105.5 per 10,000 (665 people) Offaly: 14.6 per 10,000 (83 people) Laois: 8 per 10,000 (44 people) Kildare: 25.3 per 10,000 (169 people) Kerry: 3.9 per 10,000 (63 people) Monaghan: 71.4 per 10,000 (511 people) Wexford: 16.3 per 10,000 (167 people) Longford: 71 per 10,000 (311 people) Westmeath: 30.1 per 10,000 (181 people) Tyrone: 51.4 per 10,000 (734 people) Antrim: 13.7 per 10,000 (656 people) Armagh: 21.1 per 10,000 (253 people) Fermanagh: 333.6 per 10,000 (2,025 people) Londonderry: 12.2 per 10,000 (171 people) Down: 14.8 per 10,000 (454 people)
fewerup to 348 per 10,000

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

Highest concentration · 1911

Fermanagh

334 per 10,000

2,025 Maguires · 11.5× the national share

Highest share, 1911

  1. Fermanagh 334
  2. Cavan 135
  3. Leitrim 106
  4. Monaghan 71
  5. Longford 71
  6. Louth 67
  7. Meath 64
  8. Tyrone 51

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
Antrim625656—1414—
Armagh268253—2221—
Carlow5028291389
Cavan1,5081,2341,152155135140
Clare165143184151419
Cork293311318789
Donegal472505461273030
Down496454—1715—
Dublin1,3271,6121,862303437
Fermanagh2,2572,025—348334—
Galway19615716610910
Kerry566344343
Kildare144169174242530
Kilkenny947784131012
Laois484444889
Leitrim739665626106106110
Limerick152151142101110
Londonderry181171—1312—
Longford326311295707174
Louth487423408756765
Mayo555585500283029
Meath439414453636473
Monaghan536511516727179
Offaly34835361510
Roscommon273260193272823
Sligo14510491181313
Tipperary101791466510
Tyrone724734—4851—
Waterford647571799
Westmeath186181187303033
Wexford165167133161614
Wicklow9493110161519

Local strongholds in 1911

District Electoral Divisions (300+ residents) where Maguires made up the largest share of the population. In Tircahan, Co. Cavan, about one resident in 5 was a Maguire.

DEDCountyMaguiresShare
TircahanCavan90 19.0%
SpringtownFermanagh60 18.5%
DoonFermanagh102 14.6%
RossFermanagh61 12.7%
DerrylahanCavan70 11.2%
KillinaghCavan76 10.8%
CarrickmacoskerFermanagh39 10.3%
KinawleyFermanagh60 10.1%

Origins

Septs & territories

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

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

Mag Uidhir of Fir Manach

Fir Manach, the whole of what is now Co. Fermanagh ('Maguire's Country') · Fermanagh

The ruling family of Fermanagh. Woulfe says the name first appears in the annals in 956 and that the Maguires became chiefs of Fermanagh towards the end of the 13th century, replacing earlier ruling families such as the Ó Maolruanaidh. They held the lordship until it was confiscated in the reign of James I, and Woulfe notes the family produced many soldiers and learned churchmen.[1][2][3][5]

Maguires of Tempo

Tempo · Fermanagh

Burke treats this as the senior line, descended from Philip, eldest son of Thomas Mór Maguire, lord of Fermanagh around 1400. He records that the last known chief of this line, Captain Brian Maguire, died in 1835.[6]

Maguires of Magherastephana (Barons of Enniskillen)

barony of Magherastephana · Fermanagh

Connor Roe Maguire of Magherastephana sided with the Crown in the Nine Years' War and was granted Maguire's Country in 1601, though the Plantation cut this to about 12,000 acres. His son Bryan was made Baron of Enniskillen in 1627. Both of Bryan's sons joined the 1641 rising, and Burke says the last known male heir settled in France in 1719.[2][6][7]

Maguires of Knockaninny and Carrigbawn

Knockaninny, Co. Fermanagh; Carrigbawn, Rostrevor, Co. Down · Fermanagh, Down

Burke records further lines descended from younger sons of Thomas Mór Maguire: one at Knockaninny in Fermanagh, still holding part of its land in his day, and one at Carrigbawn near Rostrevor in Co. Down, from whom a Waterford family also claimed descent.[6]

The name over time

History

Origins in Airgíalla

The Maguires belonged to the Airgíalla, a confederation of peoples in mid-Ulster whose ruling families claimed descent from the Three Collas. The kingdom of Fir Manach took shape in the 10th century out of the larger Uí Chremthainn territory. For its first centuries its kings came from other families, including the Ó hÉignigh and Ó Maolruanaidh. Woulfe finds the name Mag Uidhir first in the annals at 956, and Wikipedia names the eponymous Odhar mac Cearnaigh as a 10th-century figure.[3][8][2][1][5]

Kings of Fermanagh

The Maguires took the kingship towards the end of the 13th century; the earliest Maguire in Wikipedia's king list is Donn, who died in 1298. They came to hold the whole county, which became known as Maguire's Country. New chiefs were inaugurated on the summit of Cuilcagh and sometimes at Sciath Gabhra, now Lisnaskea. A Hugh Maguire built the first castle at Enniskillen in 1428, and Burke traces several later lines of the family to Thomas Mór Maguire, who was lord around 1400 and died in 1430.[3][2][9][6][1]

Branches and learned families

Several Fermanagh surnames began as Maguire branches. Woulfe lists the MacManuses of Senadh, now Belle Isle on Lough Erne, the MacCaffreys and the MacAwleys of Clanawley among them. The lordship also supported hereditary learned families: the O'Breslins as brehons, the O'Cassidys as physicians, the O'Keenans and Ó Luinín as historians, and the O'Hoseys as poets. The Annals of Ulster were compiled in the late 15th century by Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín for his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Senadh.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

Hugh Maguire and the Nine Years' War

Hugh Maguire became lord of Fermanagh in 1589. When the government appointed Humphrey Willis as sheriff of Fermanagh in 1593 and his men plundered the country, Hugh rose in revolt, often taken as the opening of the Nine Years' War. Crown forces took Enniskillen Castle in February 1594, but in August Hugh beat back a relief column at the Ford of the Biscuits, and he later fought at Clontibret and the Yellow Ford. His kinsman Connor Roe, 'the Queen's Maguire', backed the Crown. Hugh was killed in a skirmish near Carrigrohane, Co. Cork, in 1600.[19][9][2]

The Flight of the Earls and the Plantation

Cú Chonnacht Óg Maguire, Hugh's successor and the last Maguire king, organised the ship for the Flight of the Earls. Disguised as a French sailor, he leased a vessel at Nantes, fitted it out to look like a fishing boat, and brought it to Lough Swilly; the earls sailed from Rathmullan in September 1607. He died of fever at Genoa in August 1608. Fermanagh was absorbed into the Kingdom of Ireland as a county and included in the confiscation of Ulster. In 1607 Captain William Cole was given charge of Enniskillen Castle, which he bought outright in 1623.[20][3][9][1]

1641 and after

Connor Maguire, 2nd Baron of Enniskillen, was drawn into the plot to seize Dublin Castle in October 1641. It was betrayed the night before, and he was captured, taken to London and executed at Tyburn in 1645. His brother Rory led the rising in Fermanagh, unsuccessfully besieged Enniskillen Castle, and was killed in 1648. Rory's son Roger Maguire later served James II as a Jacobite soldier and courtier. The village of Maguiresbridge takes its name from a bridge first built by the local Maguire family around 1760.[7][2][9][21][22]

Places linked to the name

  • Enniskillen Castle, Co. Fermanagh — Castle first built by Hugh Maguire in 1428; besieged repeatedly in the Nine Years' War and in 1641.[9][2]
  • Lisnaskea (Sciath Gabhra) (Lios na Scéithe), Co. Fermanagh — One of the places where Maguire chiefs were inaugurated.[2][23]
  • Cuilcagh (Binn Chuilceach), Co. Fermanagh — Mountain on the Fermanagh–Cavan border whose summit was the main Maguire inauguration site.[2]
  • Belle Isle (Senadh Mic Maghnusa), Co. Fermanagh — Island on Lough Erne, home of the MacManus branch of the Maguires, where the Annals of Ulster were compiled.[10][18]
  • Tempo (An tIompú Deiseal), Co. Fermanagh — Seat of the line Burke regarded as chiefs of the name.[6]
  • Maguiresbridge, Co. Fermanagh — Village named after a bridge over the Colebrooke River first built by the local Maguires around 1760.[22]

Everyday lives

The Maguires in the census

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

Maguires All of Ireland Ireland's figure marked on the Maguire bar

Religion, 1911

Catholic +19.9 points vs Ireland
Maguires 93.5%
All of Ireland 73.6%
Church of Ireland −8.4 points vs Ireland
Maguires 4.8%
All of Ireland 13.2%
Presbyterian −9.4 points vs Ireland
Maguires 0.7%
All of Ireland 10.1%
Methodist & other −2.1 points vs Ireland
Maguires 1.0%
All of Ireland 3.1%

Irish language

Spoke Irish, 1901 −4.7 points vs Ireland
Maguires 10.6%
All of Ireland 15.3%
Spoke Irish, 1911 −2.3 points vs Ireland
Maguires 11.2%
All of Ireland 13.5%
Spoke Irish, 1926 · 26 counties −1.8 points vs Ireland
Maguires 11.7%
All of Ireland 13.5%

47 Maguires spoke Irish only in 1901.

Reading & writing

Could read and write, 1901 · aged 15+ −3.9 points vs Ireland
Maguires 76.5%
All of Ireland 80.4%
Could read and write, 1911 · aged 15+ −3.0 points vs Ireland
Maguires 82.8%
All of Ireland 85.8%

Family life, 1911

Household size · 2,788 households lower than Ireland
Maguires 4.44
All of Ireland 4.83
Children born per mother · women 45–59 about the same as Ireland
Maguires 6.41
All of Ireland 6.46
Children still living about the same as Ireland
Maguires 80.0%
All of Ireland 79.8%

Commonest occupations

Adults aged 15+, 1901 and 1911 combined.

Farmer2,819
Farmer's son1,287
Farmer's daughter597
Agricultural labourer408
General labourer383
Farm servant371
Farm labourer332
Labourer315
Seamstress251
Domestic servant237

Born outside Ireland

2.1% of Maguires in 1911 gave a birthplace outside Ireland.

England138
Scotland75
United States40
India6
Wales5
Australia & NZ1

Median age: 24 in 1901, 27 in 1911.

Given names

First names among the Maguires

Men and boys

  1. John2,423
  2. Patrick2,104
  3. James1,802
  4. Thomas1,423
  5. Michael978
  6. William513
  7. Francis470
  8. Peter458
  9. Hugh441
  10. Joseph435

Women and girls

  1. Mary2,528
  2. Bridget1,289
  3. Margaret820
  4. Catherine793
  5. Ellen733
  6. Annie676
  7. Anne607
  8. Kate555
  9. Elizabeth490
  10. Maggie424

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

Spellings

Spellings

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

Spelling190119111926Records
Maguire9,6069,4605,205Search
McGuire3,5373,2313,224Search
MacGuire574713Search

Related forms

  • McGuire, MacGuire — The same name with the Mac prefix written out; Woulfe and Wikipedia both list them, and Burke uses McGuire for the main family entries.[1][2][6]
  • Maguier, M'Guier, M'Gwire — Early English spellings of Mag Uidhir recorded by Woulfe.[1]
  • McGwire — A spelling Wikipedia records, borne for example by the baseball player Mark McGwire.[2]
  • MacGiver — Reflects the dialect pronunciation Mac Guibhir.[1]
  • Meguiar — An American spelling, known from the car-care brand.[2]

Diaspora

The Maguires abroad

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

SpellingPeopleUS rank
Maguire16,7132173rd
McGuire64,327521st
MacGuire21586645th

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

Heraldry

Is there a Maguire coat of arms?

Arms belonged to particular Maguire lines, so there is no single family crest. Burke's General Armory gives the lords of Fermanagh a knight in full armour on a white horse, brandishing a sword, on green, and records the motto 'Justitia et fortitudo invincibilia sunt' ('Justice and fortitude are invincible') for the Tempo line. He gives the Barons of Enniskillen the same arms with the motto 'Marte et arte'.[6][2]

Websites selling a single “Maguire 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 Maguire

  • Hugh Maguire (died 1600)
    Lord of Fermanagh whose 1593 revolt opened the Nine Years' War.
  • Connor Maguire, 2nd Baron of Enniskillen (1616–1645)
    Fermanagh nobleman in the 1641 plot on Dublin Castle, executed for treason at Tyburn.
  • Rory Maguire (1619–1648)
    Politician and soldier who was a leading instigator of the 1641 rebellion in Ulster.
  • Roger Maguire (1641–1708)
    Jacobite soldier and courtier, styled Lord Maguire of Enniskillen.
  • John Francis Maguire (1815–1872)
    Writer and MP for Dungarvan and Cork City who wrote for the Cork Examiner.
  • Peter J. McGuire (1852–1906)
    American labour leader and co-founder of the carpenters' union.
  • Sam Maguire (1877–1927)
    Republican and Gaelic footballer whose name is on the All-Ireland football trophy.
  • Conor Maguire (1889–1971)
    Lawyer and politician who was Chief Justice of Ireland from 1946 to 1961.
  • Dorothy McGuire (1916–2001)
    American actress nominated for an Academy Award for Gentleman's Agreement.
  • Mairead Maguire (born 1944)
    Northern Ireland peace activist who co-founded the movement that became the Peace People.
  • Tobey Maguire (born 1975)
    American actor best known as Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's films.
  • Leona Maguire (born 1994)
    Irish professional golfer who long topped the world amateur rankings.

Questions

Questions about the Maguire name

Is Maguire an Irish surname?

Yes. Maguire is the English form of the Gaelic Mag Uidhir, the name of the family who ruled Fermanagh from the late 13th century until the Plantation of Ulster in the early 1600s. Woulfe calls them one of the most powerful families in Ulster in their day.[1][2]

Are Maguire and McGuire the same name?

Yes. Maguire, McGuire, MacGuire and McGwire are all spellings of the same Irish name, Mag Uidhir or Mac Uidhir. Burke even lists the main Fermanagh lines under McGuire, so the spelling tells you little about a family's origin.[1][2][6]

What is Maguire in Irish?

Mag Uidhir, or Mac Uidhir, meaning 'son of Odhar'. A woman uses Nic Uidhir. Woulfe notes that the name is also pronounced Mac Guibhir in some dialects, which lies behind the English spelling MacGiver. Sam Maguire, after whom the All-Ireland football trophy is named, appears in Irish as Sam Mhic Uidhir.[1][2][4]

How do you pronounce Maguire?

In English it is said 'muh-GWIRE', with the stress on the second syllable, and McGuire is said the same way. Wikipedia gives this respelling for the family name. The Irish Mag Uidhir is pronounced differently, and Woulfe records the dialect form Mac Guibhir.[2]

What does Maguire mean?

It means 'son of Odhar'. Odhar was an Irish personal name from an adjective meaning dun-coloured, pale or sallow, perhaps describing complexion. Wikipedia names the ancestor as Odhar mac Cearnaigh, a 10th-century figure. Woulfe records that the name first appears in the annals in 956.[1][2]

Is there a Maguire family crest or coat of arms?

Not one for every Maguire. Burke's General Armory records arms for the lords of Fermanagh showing an armed knight on a white horse, borne by several Maguire lines, and Wikipedia gives the motto 'Justitia et fortitudo invincibilia sunt'. Burke records 'Marte et arte' for the Barons of Enniskillen. These belonged to particular families.[6][2]

Where in Ireland is the Maguire surname most common?

In the 1911 census the largest numbers of Maguires lived in Fermanagh (2,025), Dublin (1,612), Cavan (1,234). Relative to population, the name was most concentrated in Fermanagh (334 per 10,000), Cavan (135 per 10,000), Leitrim (106 per 10,000).

How common was the Maguire surname in Ireland?

12,738 people were recorded as Maguire or McGuire or MacGuire in the 1911 census of Ireland, making it the 40th most common surname. That is roughly 0.3% of the population, or 1 person in 345.

Looking for a Maguire ancestor?

Search every Maguire 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, Mag Uidhir, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  2. Wikipedia, Maguire family (2026)
  3. Wikipedia, Fermanagh (kingdom) (2026)
  4. Wikipedia, Sam Maguire (2026)
  5. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Maolruanaidh, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  6. Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884). Entries under 'McGuire' and 'Maguire', including Lord of Fermanagh, Tempo, Knockaninny, Baron Enniskillen and Carrigbawn.
  7. Wikipedia, Connor Maguire, 2nd Baron of Enniskillen (2026)
  8. Wikipedia, Airgíalla (2026)
  9. Wikipedia, Enniskillen Castle (2026)
  10. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Maghnuis, Mac Maghnusa, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  11. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Gafraidh, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  12. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Amhlaoibh, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  13. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Breasláin, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  14. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Caiside, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  15. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Cianáin, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  16. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Luinín, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  17. Patrick Woulfe, Ó hEodhasa, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  18. Wikipedia, Annals of Ulster (2026)
  19. Wikipedia, Hugh Maguire (Lord of Fermanagh) (2026)
  20. Wikipedia, Flight of the Earls (2026)
  21. Wikipedia, Roger Maguire (2026)
  22. Wikipedia, Maguiresbridge (2026)
  23. Wikipedia, Lisnaskea (2026)
  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.