Kavanagh or Kavanaugh is a surname of Irish origin, Caomhánach in Irish. It is one of the few Irish surnames that does not traditionally have an O or a Mac in either English or Irish (as it was is an adjectival or descriptive surname).[1][2][3][4]
Kavanagh Caomhánach | |
---|---|
Parent house | Uí Ceinnselaig of Laigin |
Country | Ireland |
Founder | Domhnall Caomhánach King of Leinster (1171–1175) |
Final ruler | Domhnall Spainneach King of Leinster (1595–1632) |
Titles | King of Leinster |
"Ach" is a suffix meaning "related to, having, characterised by, prone to" or "person or thing connected or involved with, belonging to, having". [5] Caomhánach means relating to or belonging to Caomhán. The first Kavanagh (Domhnall Caomhánach) was fostered by the coarb at St. Caomhan's abbey.[6][7] The meaning "
It is also known as (Mac Murchadha Caomhánach (an example of an Irish agnomen; see Ó Catharnaigh Sionnach or Fox of Fir Teathbha), but is often now rendered 'Caomhánach'. Rarely it is referred to as 'Ó Caomhánaigh' or 'Ní Caomhánaigh'.
"Kavanagh" and "Kavanaugh" are anglicised variations of the Irish surname Caomhánach (Cʌoṁʌ̃nʌċ in traditional Gaelic script).[8] The surname was first assumed by Domhnall Caomhánach (the eldest son of the 12th-century king of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada) in Ireland.[9] A considerable number of anglicised variations of Caomhánach exist, with some of the most common being: "Kavanagh", "Cavanagh", "Kavanaugh" and "Cavanaugh".[10]
Later descendants have sometimes added an O or Mac to the name in error,[2] likely in an ill-informed attempt to de-anglicise the name.[11][12] The addition of the O and Mac appeared to change more frequently in families who had emigrated [13] Griffith's survey noted the following between in Ireland between (1842-1854): Kavanagh (2,038), Cavanagh (434), Cavenagh (11) Kavenagh (4) O' Kavanagh (3).
The inclusion of a letter "u" in the name appears to have originated in the U.S. e.g. "Cavanaugh" and "Kavanaugh".[14]
The surname was possibly adopted by Síl Fáelchán clansmen in preference to the earlier name MacMurrough, given the prestige associated with the dynamic junior line that seized the chiefship of the Uí Cheinnselaig tribal group in the High Middle Ages.