King — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Mac Conraoi
Meaning: 'in Connacht, usually an anglicisation of Gaelic names wrongly linked to rí (king)'
Traditional stronghold: Galway, Roscommon
Pronunciation: king; Irish Mac Conraoi: mock kun-REE
History of the King name
Though King is a common English surname brought to Irish towns from medieval times, in the west of Ireland it usually disguises a Gaelic original. Mac Conraoi of Connemara, whose homeland lay around Moycullen, and Ó Cionga of the Lough Ree islands in Westmeath were both anglicised King through a mistaken association with rí, the Irish for king, and families in Roscommon and Galway alternated between King, Conroy and Conry. The result is that King today is numerous in Galway, Roscommon and Dublin, covering families of both Gaelic and English descent, a classic example of how translation obscured Irish surnames.
Variants: Conroy · Conry
Famous bearers of the name
- Cecil King — Wicklow-born abstract painter, a leading figure of Irish modernism.
- Philip King — Cork musician, broadcaster and film-maker who founded the Other Voices music series in Dingle.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Kelly · O'Connor · Lynch · Murray · Connolly · Brennan · Burke · Flynn