Keogh — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Mac Eochaidh
Meaning: 'son of Eochaidh (horseman)'
Traditional stronghold: Wexford, Roscommon
Pronunciation: KYOH; Irish Mac Eochaidh: mock OKH-ee
History of the Keogh name
Mac Eochaidh derives from Eochaidh, one of the most popular personal names of early Ireland, built on each, a horse. Three septs bore it: one in south Roscommon, whose district near Athleague was called Keogh's country; one in Leinster, poets to the O'Byrnes, whose name in Wicklow and Wexford was usually anglicised Kehoe; and one in the Limerick-Tipperary borderland. The Connacht spelling Keogh became the most widespread, and Keoghs were prominent in law, medicine and the British and American armies. Myles Keogh of Carlow, a papal soldier turned US cavalry officer, died with Custer at Little Bighorn in 1876.
Variants: Kehoe · Keough · McKeogh
Famous bearers of the name
- Myles Keogh — Carlow-born soldier of the Papal army and US 7th Cavalry, killed at Little Bighorn; his horse Comanche famously survived.
- Dermot Keogh — Historian of twentieth-century Ireland, professor emeritus at University College Cork.
- Richard Keogh — Republic of Ireland international footballer and long-time Derby County captain.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murphy · Kelly · O'Connor · Doyle · Murray · Brennan · Flynn · Kavanagh