Maguire
Mag Uidhir · son of Odhar
Maguire is Mag Uidhir in Irish, said mag EE-ir, and means son of Odhar.
Odhar means dun-coloured or pale. Lords of Fermanagh from the thirteenth century, and the name is still the commonest in the county.
How it changes
- A man: Mag Uidhir
- His daughter: Nic Uidhir
- A woman who married into it: Bean Mhic Uidhir
- The family together: Mhic Uidhir
Where it comes from
Fermanagh
Also spelt
Maguire, McGuire, MacGuire, Maguidhir
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.