O’Brien
Ó Briain · descendant of Brian
O’Brien is Ó Briain in Irish, said oh BREE-in, and means descendant of Brian.
The Brian is Brian Boru, who died at Clontarf in 1014. His grandchildren took his name, which is one of the earliest surnames in Europe to be fixed in a family rather than renewed each generation.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Briain
- His daughter: Ní Bhriain
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Bhriain
- The family together: Uí Bhriain
Where it comes from
Thomond: Clare, Limerick and north Tipperary
Also spelt
O’Brien, Brien, Bryan, O’Brian
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.