Casey
Ó Cathasaigh · descendant of Cathasach
Casey is Ó Cathasaigh in Irish, said oh KA-ha-see, and means descendant of Cathasach.
Cathasach means vigilant or watchful. Six separate families carried the name, which is why it is everywhere and belongs nowhere in particular.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Cathasaigh
- His daughter: Ní Chathasaigh
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Chathasaigh
- The family together: Uí Chathasaigh
Where it comes from
Cork, Dublin, Fermanagh, Limerick, Mayo and Roscommon
Also spelt
Casey, O’Casey, Cassey
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.