Herlihy — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó hIarfhlatha
Meaning: 'under-lord (iarfhlaith)'
Traditional stronghold: Cork, Kerry
Pronunciation: HER-li-hee; Irish Ó hIarfhlatha: oh HEER-la-ha
History of the Herlihy name
Ó hIarfhlatha derives from iarfhlaith, meaning a sub-chief or under-lord. The family belonged to west Cork, where they were closely associated with the church: they were an ecclesiastical family of the diocese of Ross, and Thomas O'Herlihy, Bishop of Ross, was one of only three Irish bishops to attend the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. The name, with its variant O'Herlihy, has remained concentrated in Cork and Kerry ever since. Emigrant branches made their mark in America, from the historian David Herlihy, a pioneer of medieval demography, to James Leo Herlihy, whose novel Midnight Cowboy became an Oscar-winning film.
Variants: O'Herlihy · Herlihey
Famous bearers of the name
- Dan O'Herlihy — Wexford-born actor, Oscar-nominated for The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.
- James Leo Herlihy — Irish-American novelist, author of Midnight Cowboy.
- David Herlihy — Irish-American historian who transformed the study of medieval families.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murphy · O'Sullivan · O'Connor · McCarthy · Daly · O'Connell · Collins · Fitzgerald