Murphy
Ó Murchú · descendant of Murchadh
Murphy is Ó Murchú in Irish, said oh MUR-khoo, and means descendant of Murchadh.
From murchadh, sea warrior: muir, the sea, and cathach, battling. It is the commonest surname in Ireland, and the three families that carry it were never related.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Murchú
- His daughter: Ní Mhurchú
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Mhurchú
- The family together: Uí Mhurchú
Where it comes from
Cork, Wexford and Roscommon, three unconnected families
Also spelt
Murphy, Morphy, MacMurphy
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.