O’Shea
Ó Séaghdha · descendant of Séaghdha
O’Shea is Ó Séaghdha in Irish, said oh SHAY, and means descendant of Séaghdha.
Séaghdha means hawk-like, or stately. The Kerry family are the old stock; the Shees of Kilkenny are the same name moved east and grown rich on trade.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Séaghdha
- His daughter: Ní Shéaghdha
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Shéaghdha
- The family together: Uí Shéaghdha
Where it comes from
Kerry
Also spelt
O’Shea, Shea, Shee, Shay
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.