Reilly
Ó Raghallaigh · descendant of Raghallach
Reilly is Ó Raghallaigh in Irish, said oh RY-lee, and means descendant of Raghallach.
The O’Reillys minted their own coinage in the sixteenth century, which is where the English phrase the life of Reilly is often said to come from, though nobody can prove it.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Raghallaigh
- His daughter: Ní Raghallaigh
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Raghallaigh
- The family together: Uí Raghallaigh
Where it comes from
Cavan, the kingdom of East Breifne
Also spelt
Reilly, O’Reilly, Riley, Rielly
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.