Doherty
Ó Dochartaigh · descendant of Dochartach
Doherty is Ó Dochartaigh in Irish, said oh DUKH-ar-tee, and means descendant of Dochartach.
Dochartach means hurtful or obstructive, which was presumably a compliment at the time. Lords of Inishowen until Cahir O’Doherty’s rising in 1608 ended it.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Dochartaigh
- His daughter: Ní Dhochartaigh
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Dhochartaigh
- The family together: Uí Dhochartaigh
Where it comes from
Inishowen, Donegal
Also spelt
Doherty, O’Doherty, Dougherty, Daugherty
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.