Foley - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Foghladha
Meaning: “plunderer, raider”
Traditional stronghold: Kerry, Waterford
Pronunciation: FOH-lee; Irish Ó Foghladha: oh FOH-luh
History of the Foley name
Foley is Ó Foghladha, from foghlaí, meaning 'plunderer' or 'raider', a name that probably began as a warrior's epithet. The sept originated in County Waterford and spread through the neighbouring counties, so that Foley is today one of the most numerous names of Waterford, Cork and Kerry. In the Sliabh Luachra district on the Cork-Kerry border the Foleys became particularly associated with music and dance. The name gave English an unexpected common noun: the craft of creating film sound effects is called Foley after Jack Foley, the Irish-American pioneer who invented it at Universal Studios.
Variants: O'Foley · Fowley · Foaley
Famous bearers of the name
- John Henry Foley - Dublin sculptor of the O'Connell Monument and the Albert Memorial statue of Prince Albert.
- Jack Foley - Irish-American sound pioneer after whom the film craft of Foley artistry is named.
- Tom Foley - Irish-American Speaker of the US House of Representatives, 1989 to 1995.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Sullivan · Walsh · O'Connor · McCarthy · O'Connell · Fitzgerald · Power · Whelan