Gorman — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Mac Gormáin
Meaning: 'blue / noble' (from gorm)
Traditional stronghold: Clare, Monaghan
Pronunciation: GOR-mun; Irish Mac Gormáin: mok gur-MAWN
History of the Gorman name
Mac Gormáin derives from gorm, literally 'blue' but figuratively 'noble' or 'illustrious'. The sept originally ruled Slievemargy on the Laois-Carlow border as a leading family of the Uí Bairrche, but the Anglo-Norman invasion drove them from Leinster. The main branch settled in Ibrickan in west Clare under the O'Briens, where they grew wealthy and were famed as patrons of the poets; another branch established itself in Monaghan. In later centuries many families of the name resumed an O prefix to which they were never entitled, producing O'Gorman, so Gorman and O'Gorman households often share the same Mac Gormáin origin.
Variants: MacGorman · O'Gorman
Famous bearers of the name
- Tommy Gorman — Long-serving RTÉ correspondent, famed for his Northern Ireland reporting.
- Richard Gorman — Dublin-born abstract painter with an international career, honoured in Japan and Italy.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Brien · Kennedy · Quinn · Connolly · Duffy · McDonnell · McMahon · Boland