Lyons
Ó Laighin · descendant of Laighean
Lyons is Ó Laighin in Irish, said oh LY-in, and means descendant of Laighean.
Laighean is a spear, and the same word is behind Laighin, the Leinstermen. In Kerry the name stayed Lyne and in Cork it became Lane, so three English surnames come out of the one Irish one.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Laighin
- His daughter: Ní Laighin
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Laighin
- The family together: Uí Laighin
Where it comes from
Galway, Mayo and Cork
Also spelt
Lyons, Lyne, Lane, Lyon
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.