Bolger — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: O Bolguidhir
Meaning: possibly 'yellow belly'
Traditional stronghold: Carlow, Wexford
Pronunciation: BOL-jer
History of the Bolger name
Bolger is generally traced to O Bolguidhir, an epithet combining bolg, 'belly' or 'stomach', with buidhe, 'yellow'. The family was established in Wexford and Carlow from an early period and remained closely tied to that south-east corner of Leinster through the medieval and early modern era. It never developed into a major ruling sept, staying instead a solidly local surname, and Wexford remains by far its densest concentration in Ireland today.
Variants: Bulger · Boulger · Bolgar
Famous bearers of the name
- Dermot Bolger — Dublin novelist, playwright and poet
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murphy · Doyle · Kavanagh · Nolan · Whelan · Cullen · Roche · Keating