Crowe — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: MacConchradha / O Cruadha
Meaning: 'descendant of Cruadha, meaning hard or strong'
Traditional stronghold: Clare
Pronunciation: KROH; Irish O Cruadha: oh KROO-uh
History of the Crowe name
Crowe most commonly anglicises O Cruadha, 'descendant of the hard/strong one', a sept associated with County Clare and the Dalcassian group of families linked historically to the O'Briens. Some Crowe families also descend from Mac Conchradha, a related but distinct surname meaning 'son of the hound of strength'. The name persisted steadily in Clare through the medieval and early modern periods without achieving major ruling status, remaining a solid landholding sept in its home territory. The O prefix was dropped in most modern usage, giving the short and now well-known form Crowe, still strongly concentrated in Clare and the Munster region, and carried abroad prominently through 20th-century emigration to Australia and elsewhere.
Variants: MacEnchroe · O'Crowe · Crowhy
Famous bearers of the name
- Russell Crowe — New Zealand-Australian actor with Irish ancestry via the Clare Crowe family (MacEnchroe)
- Eileen Crowe — Irish actress associated with the Abbey Theatre
- Catriona Crowe — Irish archivist and historian
- Peter Crowe — Irish sportsperson
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Brien · Kennedy · Quinn · McDonnell · McMahon · Boland · Keane · Hogan