Cleary — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: O Cleirigh
Meaning: 'descendant of the clerk or scribe'
Traditional stronghold: Cork, Tipperary
Pronunciation: KLEER-ee; Irish O Cleirigh: oh KLAIR-ee
History of the Cleary name
Cleary shares its Gaelic root, O Cleirigh, with Clarke, both meaning 'descendant of the clerk', but developed as a separate anglicisation in Munster, particularly Tipperary, Cork and Clare, distinct from the Donegal O'Clearys who compiled the Annals of the Four Masters. The name reflects the historic prestige of literacy and clerical learning attached to certain families in early Irish society, often linked to church administration or record-keeping roles. Cleary remained a Munster name through the medieval and early modern periods and, unlike Clarke, largely retained its more Gaelic-sounding form through anglicisation. It is common today particularly across Tipperary, Cork and the wider Munster region, and travelled with emigration to Australia and the US.
Variants: O'Cleary · Clery · Cleere
Famous bearers of the name
- Bridget Cleary — subject of a notorious 1895 Tipperary case, the last so-called witch burning in Ireland
- Skeeter Cleary — Irish sportsperson
- Fintan Cleary — Irish hurler
- Michael Cleary — Irish singer and television presenter
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murphy · O'Brien · Ryan · O'Sullivan · McCarthy · Kennedy · Daly · Collins