Cusack - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: de Cíosóg
Meaning: Norman, from Cussac in France
Traditional stronghold: Meath, Clare
Pronunciation: KYOO-suck; Irish de Cíosóg: deh KEE-sohg
History of the Cusack name
Cusack is an Anglo-Norman name, from de Cussac, a place in Guienne in France, and the family came to Ireland in the wake of the twelfth-century invasion. They became major landholders in Meath, holding Killeen and other manors, and supplied mayors, sheriffs and judges to the Pale for centuries; Killeen Castle passed to the Plunketts through the marriage of the Cusack heiress Joan in the early fifteenth century. Branches spread into Kildare, Dublin and Clare, where the name became well established. Thoroughly assimilated, the Cusacks appear on every side of Irish history, from Elizabethan lawyers to the founding of the GAA by Clareman Michael Cusack in 1884.
Variants: Cussack · Cusick · de Cussac
Famous bearers of the name
- Michael Cusack - Clare-born founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1884; Croke Park's Cusack Stand bears his name.
- Cyril Cusack - One of the great Irish actors of the twentieth century, with a career spanning the Abbey, London and Hollywood.
- Sinéad Cusack - Award-winning stage and film actress, daughter of Cyril.
- John Cusack - American film actor of Irish descent.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Kelly · O'Brien · Kennedy · Quinn · McDonnell · McMahon · Boland · Keane