Kane - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Catháin
Meaning: “battle”
Traditional stronghold: Derry
Lords of Keenaght in Ulster.
Pronunciation: KAYN; Irish Ó Catháin: oh kah-HAW-in
History of the Kane name
Kane and O'Kane are the Ulster anglicisations of Ó Catháin, one of the most powerful septs of the north. From their base in the Roe Valley of Co. Derry the O'Cahans ruled the territory of Keenaght and Coleraine, and as the leading sub-kings of the O'Neills they held the hereditary right to cast the shoe at the inauguration of each new O'Neill chief. Their fortunes collapsed with the Plantation of Ulster: the last great chief, Donal Ballagh O'Cahan, died a prisoner in the Tower of London around 1628. The name remains heavily concentrated in Derry, Antrim and Tyrone.
The blind harper Ruaidhrí Dall Ó Catháin, of this sept, composed Tabhair Dom Do Lámh (Give Me Your Hand), still among the most played pieces in the harp repertoire.
Variants: O'Kane · O'Cahan · Keane · McCloskey
Famous bearers of the name
- Donal Ballagh O'Cahan - Last great chief of the O'Cahans of Derry, who died imprisoned in the Tower of London.
- Ruaidhrí Dall Ó Catháin - Blind harper and composer of Give Me Your Hand, who played in the great houses of Ireland and Scotland.
- Elisha Kent Kane - American Arctic explorer of Ulster descent whose expeditions made him a 19th-century celebrity.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Connor · Doherty · McLoughlin · Quigley · Harkin · McCloskey · Mullan · Hegarty