This information from Tish is consistent with everything I have read about
the name as well. McLysaght, the pompous grand poobah of Irish genealogy, is
the original source in our century for much of the material
Kevin
-----Original Message-----
From: gc-gateway(a)rootsweb.com [mailto:gc-gateway@rootsweb.com]On Behalf
Of pmbyrne(a)shaw.ca
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 3:05 PM
To: CAHILL-L(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: [CAHILL] Re: Cahill family from Co. Cork, Ireland, married in
WA, Nora Ryan, Margaret Huckstepp
This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Classification: Query
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/AOH.2ACIB/656.1.1.1
Message Board Post:
Hi Jim and Anne Marie
I have three different books on Irish surnames and neither one mentions
that the name Cahill is derived from the Spanish.The first book is called
"The Dictionary of Irish Family Names by Ida Grehan". Here is what is states
for the surname CAHILL.
CAHILL
Cathail
Cathail is the Irish version of the name Charles,meaning valour. From
this first name derives Cahill,one of the earliest family names. The O
prefix is no longer used by the Cahills. At first they were an important
sept in Connacht,where they must have had strong connections with the sea,as
their armorial shield features a whale spouting a fountain of water on a
blue sea,while their crest is an anchor with an entwined cable.
By the fourteenth century there were several Cahill septs,most of them
in Munster,where today they are still most numerous. They have left their
name on five different country towns: there are three Ballycahills in County
Tipperary,one in County Galway and another in County Clare.
The Cahills were prominent in the Church and,during the eighteenth
century,in the armies in Eurpoe,where they served in France with the Irish
Regiment of Walsh. In the First World War,three brothers,all from a County
Kilkenny family,were killed in action in France."
From the second book called "Celtic Book of Names by D.J.
Conway" the
following is written.
"Cahill
One of the earliest recorded Irish surnames,it was originally
Cathail,which is derived from the Irish word for Charles and means "manly"
or valor." A southern Galway family was the first to bear this name,but soon
there were branches in other areas with slightly changed surnames. For
example,there are families with the surname Ballycahill in both County
Tipperary and County Clare. During World War 1, three sons of the
Ballyragget family of County Kilkenny died in France."
The third book called "Collins Pocket Reference Irish Family Names by John
Grenham."
The following is what is written in that book.
Cahill
The original Irish from which the name derives is O Cathail,from the
common personal name Cathal,sometimes anglicised as Charles,which may in
turn derive from the Old Irish catu-ualos,meaning 'strong in battle'.
Families of the name arose separately in different parts of Ireland,in
Kerry,Galway,Tipperary and Clare. Originally the Galway family,located in
the old diocese of Kilmacduagh near the Clare border,were most prominent,but
their position was usurped by the O'Shaughnessys,and theydeclined. The
southern families flourished,and the name is now most common in counties
Cork,Kerry and Tipperary,while it is relatively infrequent in its other
original homes. The arms illustrated are those of the Munster Cahills.(Which
is HERALDIC BLAZON. Argent a whale spouting in the sea proper.)
The geographical spread of families of the name is reflected in the
forty-five placenames which incorporate Cahill. These placenames appear in
Clare(four),Tipperary (six,including three Ballycahills),Galway(eight),Cork
(two) and Kilkenny (one).
Demographic Data
Traditional Family Areas:Clare,Cork,Kerry,Tipperary.
Family Ranking:1890--134th, 1996--142nd
No. of Births
1890--147
Famous Names:
Flann O'Cahill died 938
A very early bearer of the name,whom the Annals record as having been
martyred in 938.
Father Daniel Cahill (1796-1864)
Father Daniel Cahill was well known in his day as a teacher,journalist and
lecturer."
In another book that I have called "Dictionary of Newfoundland and Labrador
Biography" there are two Cahill's mentioned.The first is Frank M. Cahill
born Sept 9,1914 in St.John's.Inducted Newfoundland Sports Hall of Fame
1978.
The second one is Thomas Cahill born Oct 9,1929 in St. John's.Author of
Tomorrow Will Be Sunday."
I also have Cahill in my family tree on my mother's side.I have only been
able to trace them back to (Salmon Cove now Avondale),Newfoundland.
I hope this is of help to you. Take care and Happy New Year.
Tish