surnames.ie

Irish surname · 29th most common in 1911

O'Connell

Also spelt Connell

O'Connell, often shortened to Connell, is the English form of Ó Conaill, 'descendant of Conall'. The best-known family came from Kerry, where they were castellans of Ballycarbery and later lived at Derrynane, home of Daniel O'Connell. Separate families of the name were rooted in Co. Derry and south Galway.

Irish Ó ConaillIrish Ó ConghaileIrish Ní Chonaill
1901 census
14,528
#28 · 33 per 10,000
1911 census
14,192
#29 · 32 per 10,000
1926 census
13,518
#19 · 46 per 10,000
Most numerous
Cork
Highest share: Kerry

Language & meaning

Meaning & Irish forms

Gaelic Gaelic Irish: at least three unrelated septs called Ó Conaill, in Kerry, Derry and Galway, of which the Kerry family is by far the best known.[1]

Ó Conaill
“descendant of Conall”[1][2]
Woulfe's headword, which he says was the form in universal use in Munster. Connell is the same name without the prefix.
Ó Conghaile
“descendant of Conghal”[1][3]
The spelling O'Heerin's medieval poem used for the Kerry family. Burke likewise derives the Kerry sept from an ancestor called Conghaile.
Ní Chonaill
“daughter of a descendant of Conall”[4]
The form used by women, as in the name of the poet Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill.

The name is built on the personal name Conall, usually explained as “high-powerful”. Woulfe glosses Conall as 'high-powerful' and compares Welsh Cynvall. Wikipedia instead breaks it into cú, 'hound', and gal, 'valour'. Both treat it as an ancient Irish personal name.[1][2]

Pronunciation

O'Connell: oh-KON-ul

Place

Where the O'Connells 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: 2.1 per 10,000 (35 people) Waterford: 30.7 per 10,000 (253 people) Dublin: 18.2 per 10,000 (872 people) Kilkenny: 29.7 per 10,000 (223 people) Carlow: 10.7 per 10,000 (39 people) Limerick: 111.8 per 10,000 (1,603 people) Louth: 11 per 10,000 (69 people) Tipperary: 41.1 per 10,000 (627 people) Roscommon: 14.8 per 10,000 (139 people) Meath: 53.5 per 10,000 (349 people) Wicklow: 12.8 per 10,000 (78 people) Cavan: 32.1 per 10,000 (293 people) Cork: 113.5 per 10,000 (4,460 people) Clare: 54 per 10,000 (564 people) Galway: 29.7 per 10,000 (542 people) Mayo: 15.5 per 10,000 (298 people) Sligo: 22.5 per 10,000 (178 people) Leitrim: 8.4 per 10,000 (53 people) Offaly: 24.9 per 10,000 (142 people) Laois: 34 per 10,000 (186 people) Kildare: 14.2 per 10,000 (95 people) Kerry: 136.5 per 10,000 (2,182 people) Monaghan: 0.6 per 10,000 (4 people) Wexford: 3.3 per 10,000 (34 people) Longford: 26.5 per 10,000 (116 people) Westmeath: 51.7 per 10,000 (311 people) Tyrone: 1.9 per 10,000 (27 people) Antrim: 3.1 per 10,000 (149 people) Armagh: 1.3 per 10,000 (15 people) Fermanagh: 0.2 per 10,000 (1 people) Londonderry: 10.9 per 10,000 (152 people) Down: 3.4 per 10,000 (103 people)
fewerup to 137 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

137 per 10,000

2,182 O'Connells · 4.22× the national share

Highest share, 1911

  1. Kerry 137
  2. Cork 114
  3. Limerick 112
  4. Clare 54
  5. Meath 54
  6. Westmeath 52
  7. Tipperary 41
  8. Laois 34

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
Antrim109149—23—
Armagh3015—21—
Carlow25393771111
Cavan309293252323231
Clare627564551565458
Cork4,6324,4604,374116114120
Donegal233558124
Down95103—33—
Dublin7948721,145181823
Fermanagh01—00—
Galway553542497293029
Kerry2,1962,1821,948133137131
Kildare11195123181421
Kilkenny185223230253033
Laois185186166323432
Leitrim605347988
Limerick1,6081,6031,491109112107
Londonderry213152—1511—
Longford117116101252725
Louth696983111113
Mayo333298314171618
Meath385349310555450
Monaghan5424114
Offaly124142111212521
Roscommon164139136161516
Sligo179178177222325
Tipperary643627696404150
Tyrone2527—22—
Waterford269253231313130
Westmeath325311286525251
Wexford543442534
Wicklow817888141315

Local strongholds in 1911

District Electoral Divisions (300+ residents) where O'Connells made up the largest share of the population. In Portmagee, Co. Kerry, about one resident in 9 was a O'Connell.

DEDCountyO'ConnellsShare
PortmageeKerry86 11.6%
CaherLimerick72 11.6%
DerryfineenCork55 11.5%
BaunmoreKilkenny45 11.1%
CandromaCork48 9.2%
KillathyCork57 8.5%
CastlequinKerry99 7.6%
BallinskelligsKerry93 6.9%

Origins

Septs & territories

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

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

Ó Conaill of Magh O gCoinchinn and Iveragh

Magh O gCoinchinn (the barony of Magunihy) in east Kerry, later Iveragh around Ballycarbery · Kerry

Chiefs of Magh O gCoinchinn in east Kerry until the O'Donoghues drove them out, after which they moved west into Iveragh. There they followed MacCarthy Mór and served as hereditary castellans of Ballycarbery, near Cahersiveen, from the Anglo-Norman invasion to the 17th century. Woulfe dates their displacement to about the mid-11th century; Burke says it happened shortly before the Norman conquest.[1][3][5][6]

O'Connell of Derrynane

Derrynane, on the Iveragh peninsula · Kerry

The senior line of the Kerry family in the 18th and 19th centuries, seated at Derrynane and best known through Daniel O'Connell. Family tradition claimed descent from the Uí Chonaill Gabra of Co. Limerick, while another view makes them a sept of the Corcu Duibne; Wikipedia treats neither as proven.[7][8]

Ó Conaill of Uí Mac Carthainn

Uí Mac Carthainn, now the barony of Tirkeeran · Derry

A branch of the Oirghialla who were anciently lords of Uí Mac Carthainn, the district now known as the barony of Tirkeeran in Co. Londonderry.[1][9]

Ó Conaill of Uí Maine

South Co. Galway, between the river Grian and the borders of Thomond · Galway

A branch of the Uí Maine who anciently held a territory in the south of Co. Galway, bordering Thomond. Woulfe gives no later history for this family.[1]

The name over time

History

Three families called Ó Conaill

O'Connell comes from Ó Conaill, 'descendant of Conall', an old Irish personal name. Woulfe identifies at least three separate families who bore it: one in Co. Derry, a branch of the Oirghialla who were lords of what is now Tirkeeran; one in south Galway, a branch of the Uí Maine; and one in Kerry. Only the Kerry family has a well-recorded later history, and it is the main source of the name today. Connell, without the prefix, is simply the same surname with the Ó dropped.[1][9]

From east Kerry to Iveragh

The Kerry O'Connells were first chiefs of Magh O gCoinchinn, the modern barony of Magunihy in the east of the county. The O'Donoghues took that territory from them, around the middle of the 11th century according to Woulfe, or shortly before the Norman conquest according to Burke. The family moved west into the Iveragh peninsula. From the Anglo-Norman period down to the 17th century they were followers of MacCarthy Mór and hereditary castellans of Ballycarbery Castle, near Cahersiveen, which Wikipedia notes was bombarded by Parliamentarian forces in 1652.[1][3][5][6]

Transplantation and the Irish Brigades

In Cromwell's time the head of the family, Maurice O'Connell, was transplanted from Kerry to Brentir, near Lisdoonvarna in Co. Clare. Other members of the family made careers abroad, and Woulfe notes that several served with distinction in the Irish Brigades in France. The best known was Daniel Charles O'Connell, who entered French service in 1761, was made a count by Louis XVI in 1785, and after the Revolution raised a regiment for the British army. He was an uncle of Daniel O'Connell the Liberator.[1][3][10]

Derrynane and the Liberator

Derrynane House on the Iveragh peninsula was built or extended in the 1700s by Domhnall Mór Ó Conaill and his wife Máire Ní Dhonnchadha Dhuibh. Their grandson Daniel O'Connell was born in 1775 at Carhan, near Cahersiveen. As Catholics under the Penal Laws, the family had kept their land only through Protestant trustees. O'Connell led the campaign that won Catholic emancipation in 1829, and Woulfe credits him with making the surname famous. His aunt, Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill, was the main composer of the great lament Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire.[8][11][4][1]

An origin still debated

Writers disagree about where the Kerry O'Connells ultimately came from. One tradition, backed by the claims of Count O'Connell, traces them to the Uí Chonaill Gabra of Co. Limerick, which would make them kin to the O'Donovans and O'Collins. Another makes them a sept of the Corcu Duibne of Kerry, kin of the O'Sheas and O'Falveys. Wikipedia regards both as possible but unproven. The family's later standing is clearer: a baronetcy was created in 1869 for James O'Connell, the Liberator's youngest brother.[7][12]

Places linked to the name

  • Derrynane House (Teach Dhoire Fhionáin), Co. Kerry — Seat of the O'Connells of Derrynane and home of Daniel O'Connell, now a national monument and historic park.[8]
  • Ballycarbery Castle, Co. Kerry — Castle near Cahersiveen where the O'Connells were hereditary castellans to MacCarthy Mór.[1][6]
  • Magunihy (Maigh gCoinchinn), Co. Kerry — Barony in east Kerry, the early territory of the Kerry O'Connells before the O'Donoghues displaced them.[3][1][5]
  • Cahersiveen (Cathair Saidhbhín), Co. Kerry — Daniel O'Connell was born at Carhan House, near the town.[11]
  • Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare — Near Brentir, where Maurice O'Connell, head of the family, was transplanted under Cromwell.[1]
  • Tirkeeran, Co. Derry — Barony matching Uí Mac Carthainn, lordship of the Derry Ó Conaill family.[1][9]

Everyday lives

The O'Connells in the census

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

O'Connells All of Ireland Ireland's figure marked on the O'Connell bar

Religion, 1911

Catholic +23.9 points vs Ireland
O'Connells 97.5%
All of Ireland 73.6%
Church of Ireland −11.9 points vs Ireland
O'Connells 1.3%
All of Ireland 13.2%
Presbyterian −9.4 points vs Ireland
O'Connells 0.7%
All of Ireland 10.1%
Methodist & other −2.7 points vs Ireland
O'Connells 0.4%
All of Ireland 3.1%

Irish language

Spoke Irish, 1901 +10.5 points vs Ireland
O'Connells 25.8%
All of Ireland 15.3%
Spoke Irish, 1911 +9.5 points vs Ireland
O'Connells 23.0%
All of Ireland 13.5%
Spoke Irish, 1926 · 26 counties +3.2 points vs Ireland
O'Connells 16.7%
All of Ireland 13.5%

109 O'Connells spoke Irish only in 1901.

Reading & writing

Could read and write, 1901 · aged 15+ +2.3 points vs Ireland
O'Connells 82.7%
All of Ireland 80.4%
Could read and write, 1911 · aged 15+ +1.5 points vs Ireland
O'Connells 87.3%
All of Ireland 85.8%

Family life, 1911

Household size · 2,936 households about the same as Ireland
O'Connells 4.85
All of Ireland 4.83
Children born per mother · women 45–59 higher than Ireland
O'Connells 6.89
All of Ireland 6.46
Children still living +1.5 points vs Ireland
O'Connells 81.3%
All of Ireland 79.8%

Commonest occupations

Adults aged 15+, 1901 and 1911 combined.

Farmer2,526
Farmer's son1,331
Farmer's daughter821
Agricultural labourer585
General labourer499
Farm servant465
Labourer390
House keeper312
Farm labourer299
Domestic servant269

Born outside Ireland

1.5% of O'Connells in 1911 gave a birthplace outside Ireland.

England137
United States41
Scotland15
India8
Wales5
Australia & NZ1

Median age: 24 in 1901, 26 in 1911.

Given names

First names among the O'Connells

Men and boys

  1. John3,248
  2. Patrick2,420
  3. Michael1,988
  4. James1,539
  5. Daniel1,154
  6. Thomas1,134
  7. William1,022
  8. Timothy657
  9. Denis634
  10. Maurice426

Women and girls

  1. Mary3,697
  2. Bridget1,494
  3. Margaret1,404
  4. Ellen1,180
  5. Catherine843
  6. Kate786
  7. Julia607
  8. Annie538
  9. Nora466
  10. Hannah459

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

Spellings

Spellings

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

Spelling190119111926Records
O'Connell6,1147,3229,366Search
Connell8,4146,8704,152Search

Related forms

  • Connell — The same name without the O prefix.[1]
  • O Conaill — An older written form recorded by Woulfe.[1]
  • Ní Chonaill — The Irish form for women.[4]
  • McConnell (a separate name) — Not a form of O'Connell. Woulfe derives MacConnell mostly from Mac Dhomhnaill, a variant of Mac Domhnaill, and only rarely from Mac Conaill.[13][14]

Diaspora

The O'Connells abroad

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

SpellingPeopleUS rank
O'Connell36,194961st
Connell22,5521589th

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

Heraldry

Is there a O'Connell coat of arms?

Arms belonged to particular families, so there is no single O'Connell crest. Burke's General Armory records arms for the O'Connell sept of Kerry: divided horizontally silver and green, with a stag between three trefoils, the colours reversed on each half. He gives the same arms to the O'Connells of Derrynane, with a stag's head crest and the motto 'Ciall agus neart', and to related lines in Clare and at Lakeview. A Castleconnell family, allowed arms in 1755, used the motto 'Victor in arduis'.[3]

Websites selling a single “O'Connell 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 O'Connell

  • Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill (c. 1743–c. 1800)
    Poet of the Derrynane family and main composer of the lament Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire.
  • Daniel Charles O'Connell (1745–1833)
    Soldier in the Irish Brigade of France, created Count O'Connell in 1785; uncle of the Liberator.
  • Maurice Charles O'Connell (1768–1848)
    Army officer and cousin of the Derrynane family; commander of forces in colonial New South Wales.
  • Daniel O'Connell (1775–1847)
    'The Liberator', leader of Catholic Ireland who won Catholic emancipation in 1829.
  • John O'Connell (1810–1858)
    Son of Daniel O'Connell, MP and his successor as leader of the Repeal Association.
  • Evan S. Connell (1924–2013)
    American novelist, short-story writer, essayist and author of epic historical works.
  • Desmond Connell (1926–2017)
    Cardinal and Archbishop of Dublin, later heavily criticised over his handling of clerical abuse.
  • Mick O'Connell (born 1937)
    Kerry Gaelic footballer whose club career with Young Islanders lasted 25 years.
  • Dáithí Ó Conaill (1938–1991)
    Irish republican, Provisional IRA leader and vice-president of Sinn Féin.
  • Maura O'Connell (born 1958)
    Singer known for interpreting Irish folk songs with an American country influence.
  • Paul O'Connell (born 1979)
    Rugby union lock who captained Munster, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions.
  • Billie Eilish (born 2001)
    American singer-songwriter, born Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell.

Questions

Questions about the O'Connell name

Is O'Connell an Irish surname?

Yes. O'Connell is the English form of the Gaelic Irish Ó Conaill, 'descendant of Conall'. Woulfe records three separate families of the name, in Kerry, Derry and Galway. The Kerry family, castellans of Ballycarbery and later of Derrynane, is the best known and produced Daniel O'Connell.[1]

What is O'Connell in Irish?

Ó Conaill for a man and Ní Chonaill for a woman, as in the name of the poet Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill. Daniel O'Connell's name in Irish is Dónall Ó Conaill. Woulfe notes that a medieval poem spelled the Kerry family's name Ó Conghaile, but Ó Conaill is the form used in Munster.[1][4][11]

Are O'Connell and Connell the same name?

Yes. Woulfe lists both O'Connell and Connell as English forms of Ó Conaill. Woulfe observes that most Irish surnames lost their O or Mac in English, so the two spellings can belong to the same family.[1][15]

Are O'Connell and McConnell related?

Usually not. McConnell normally comes from Mac Dhomhnaill, a variant of Mac Domhnaill ('son of Domhnall'), which is a different name altogether. Woulfe found a separate Mac Conaill, 'son of Conall', but described it as very rare.[14][13]

Where does the O'Connell name come from?

The main family came from Kerry. They were first chiefs in the east of the county, in what is now the barony of Magunihy, and then moved to the Iveragh peninsula, where they held Ballycarbery for MacCarthy Mór and later lived at Derrynane. Smaller septs of the name belonged to Co. Derry and south Galway.[1][3][5]

Is there an O'Connell family crest or coat of arms?

Not one for every O'Connell. Burke records arms for the Kerry sept, a stag between three trefoils on a silver and green field, also borne by the Derrynane family and related lines with a stag's head crest. Arms belonged to particular families, so a modern O'Connell has no automatic right to them.[3]

What is the O'Connell family motto?

Burke gives 'Ciall agus neart' for the O'Connells of Derrynane and the related families at Ballyhean in Clare and Lakeview in Kerry. A different motto, 'Victor in arduis', belongs to a Castleconnell line allowed arms in 1755. Neither is a motto for the whole name.[3]

Where in Ireland is the O'Connell surname most common?

In the 1911 census the largest numbers of O'Connells lived in Cork (4,460), Kerry (2,182), Limerick (1,603). Relative to population, the name was most concentrated in Kerry (137 per 10,000), Cork (114 per 10,000), Limerick (112 per 10,000).

How common was the O'Connell surname in Ireland?

14,192 people were recorded as O'Connell or Connell in the 1911 census of Ireland, making it the 29th most common surname. That is roughly 0.3% of the population, or 1 person in 310.

Looking for a O'Connell ancestor?

Search every O'Connell 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 Conaill, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  2. Wikipedia, O'Connell (name) (2026)
  3. Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884). Entries for the O'Connell sept, O'Connell of Darrinane Abbey, Ballyhean Lodge, Lake View and Castle Connell.
  4. Wikipedia, Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill (2026)
  5. Wikipedia, Magunihy (2026)
  6. Wikipedia, Ballycarbery Castle (2026)
  7. Wikipedia, O'Connell family of Derrynane (2026)
  8. Wikipedia, Derrynane House (2026)
  9. Wikipedia, Tirkeeran (2026)
  10. Wikipedia, Daniel Charles O'Connell (2026)
  11. Wikipedia, Daniel O'Connell (2026)
  12. Wikipedia, O'Connell baronets (2026)
  13. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Conaill, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  14. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Dhomhnaill, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  15. Patrick Woulfe, Anglicisation of Irish Surnames, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  16. 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.
  17. Irish forms cross-checked against Gaois surname data (Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge, DCU).

How we compile these figures: methodology.