Garvey - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Gairbhith
Meaning: “rough peace”
Traditional stronghold: Armagh, Down
Pronunciation: GAR-vee; Irish Ó Gairbhith: oh GAR-vih
History of the Garvey name
The Garveys descend from Ó Gairbhith, a name combining garbh (rough) and síth (peace). The principal sept belonged to the ancient kingdom of Oriel, where they held territory in Armagh and Down and appear in the annals as chiefs among the Uí Breasail. A second, distinct family of the same name was seated in the barony of Morgallion in County Meath. Like most Ulster septs the Garveys lost their lands in the plantations of the seventeenth century, and the name scattered through Ulster and into Connacht and Leinster. Emigration carried it widely: the surname is well known in Britain, America and the Caribbean, where it arrived with Irish settlers and planters.
Variants: Garvie · McGarvey · O'Garvey
Famous bearers of the name
- Marcus Garvey - Jamaican Pan-Africanist leader whose surname derived from Irish ancestry on his father's side.
- Steve Garvey - American baseball first baseman and National League MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- Guy Garvey - English singer and songwriter, frontman of the band Elbow, of Irish descent.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murphy · Murray · Rooney · O'Hanlon · Fitzsimons · Larkin · Doran · Traynor