Irish last names

Now when I was on my tour in Dublin I learned that the 'O' that begins in certain Irish names like O'Brian means literally 'grandson of', much like in English last names we have Jackson which translates to son of Jack.

Since it isn't originally is not supposed to be like that in Irish but has become that way because of what I assume is the clashing of cultures. I have here a list I found that denotes all of how the names in the household differed based on their perceived rank in a patriarchal society. But it seems that the name would have been used of a well-known family member. If a grandmother was better known within the society than the grandfather then her name would have been used.




Mac- son of

Ó - grandson of

Ní- daughter of

Uí- wife of


These would have been placed after the given name and before the family name, and would be used. One of my friends whom I met in Ireland uses the 'daughter of' in her formal name but she uses her Anglicized name for the most part.