Devlin - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Doibhilin
Meaning: descendant of Doibhilin
Traditional stronghold: Tyrone
Chiefs of Muintir Dhoibhilin on Lough Neagh’s shore.
Pronunciation: DEV-lin; Irish Ó Doibhilin: oh DIV-il-een
History of the Devlin name
The Devlins, Ó Doibhilin, were a sept of the Cenél nEógain whose territory, Muintir Dhoibhilin or Munterdevlin, lay along the western shore of Lough Neagh in County Tyrone. They served as swordsmen and supporters of the O'Neills, and the name has remained overwhelmingly an Ulster one, concentrated in Tyrone and spreading into Derry, Antrim and Armagh. A smaller, unrelated sept of the same name existed in County Sligo. The Devlins have been prominent in nationalist politics for over two centuries, from Anne Devlin, the loyal confidante of Robert Emmet, to the West Belfast MP Joe Devlin and the civil-rights leader Bernadette Devlin.
Variants: Develin · O'Devlin · Devlyn
Famous bearers of the name
- Anne Devlin - Wicklow-born housekeeper and confidante of Robert Emmet who endured prison rather than betray him.
- Bernadette Devlin McAliskey - Civil-rights activist elected to Westminster in 1969 at the age of 21.
- Joe Devlin - Belfast nationalist politician and long-serving MP, a leading figure in the Irish Parliamentary Party.
- Denis Devlin - Modernist poet and Irish diplomat of the mid-twentieth century.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Neill · Quinn · Donnelly · McGrath · Bradley · Campbell · Devine · Gormley