O’Connor
Ó Conchúir · descendant of Conchobhar
O’Connor is Ó Conchúir in Irish, said oh KUN-a-khoor, and means descendant of Conchobhar.
Conchobhar is read as lover of hounds. The Connacht family gave Ireland its last two high kings, and Ó Conchúir Donn is one of the few Gaelic titles still recognised.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Conchúir
- His daughter: Ní Chonchúir
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Chonchúir
- The family together: Uí Chonchúir
Where it comes from
Connacht, and four other kingdoms besides
Also spelt
O’Connor, Connor, Conner, O’Conor
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.