Carty — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Mac Carthaigh (variant) / O Cárthaigh
Meaning: 'descendant of Carthach, meaning loving'
Traditional stronghold: Mayo, Sligo
Pronunciation: KAR-tee; Irish O Cárthaigh: oh KAR-hee
History of the Carty name
Carty is generally understood as a Connacht variant form related in root to the great Munster MacCarthy name, both stemming ultimately from the personal name Carthach meaning 'loving' or 'affectionate', though the Carty sept of Mayo and Sligo developed as a separate and much less powerful family than the MacCarthy kings of Munster. The name remained locally rooted in the west of Ireland through the medieval period, persisting as an ordinary landholding family name rather than a ruling one. It anglicised smoothly into the short form Carty, which is common today across Connacht, particularly Mayo, Sligo and Roscommon, and was carried abroad through the substantial emigration from that region in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Variants: McCarty · Carthy
Famous bearers of the name
- Jarlath Carty — Irish sportsperson
- Mairead Carty — Irish community figure
- Thomas Carty — Irish-American clergyman
- Ann Carty — Irish educator
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Walsh · Burke · McGowan · Boland · Moran · Higgins · Conway · Feeney