Cahill
Ó Cathail · descendant of Cathal
Cahill is Ó Cathail in Irish, said oh KA-hil, and means descendant of Cathal.
Cathal means strong in battle, from cath. Four separate families carried it, which is why it turns up across the whole southern half of the country.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Cathail
- His daughter: Ní Chathail
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Chathail
- The family together: Uí Chathail
Where it comes from
Galway, Clare, Kerry and Tipperary
Also spelt
Cahill, O’Cahill, Cahil
A name, not a pedigree
This is where the name came from, which is not the same as where you came from. Names were translated, anglicised, taken on by tenants and neighbours, and carried in by settlers who were no relation to the family that started them. To follow your own line, the 1901 and 1911 censuses are free and searchable, and give the county each person was born in.