Grace - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Grás
Meaning: Norman - “fat” (le Gras)
Traditional stronghold: Kilkenny
Pronunciation: GRAYSS; Irish Grás: grawss
History of the Grace name
The Graces descend from Raymond le Gros ('the stout'), FitzGerald kinsman and one of the ablest commanders of the original Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169-70; his nickname, Latinised Gracius, became the family surname. Their territory, long called Grace's Country, lay in County Kilkenny around Tullaroan, with Courtstown Castle as the chief seat, and the family remained leading Kilkenny gentry for five centuries. Staunchly royalist and Catholic, they lost Courtstown after the Williamite wars, in which Colonel Richard Grace, the aged Jacobite governor of Athlone, died defending the town in 1691. The name remains most common in Kilkenny and Tipperary, and Tullaroan's hurling tradition kept the Grace name on All-Ireland teams.
Variants: Le Gras · Grás · Gracey
Famous bearers of the name
- Colonel Richard Grace - Veteran Jacobite commander killed defending Athlone in 1691.
- William Russell Grace - Irish-born founder of W. R. Grace and Co. and first Catholic mayor of New York City.
- Tom Grace - Ireland rugby winger of the 1970s who captained the national team.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Walsh · Brennan · Fitzpatrick · Tobin · Purcell · Butler · Brophy · Dunphy