Larkin - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Lorcáin
Meaning: “fierce, rough”
Traditional stronghold: Wexford, Armagh
Pronunciation: LAR-kin; Irish O Lorcain: oh LOR-kan
History of the Larkin name
Larkin derives from O Lorcain, 'descendant of Lorcan', a personal name meaning fierce. Septs of this name arose independently in several parts of Ireland, most notably in County Galway and County Offaly, with another branch recorded in County Armagh in Ulster. Because the name existed as multiple unrelated Gaelic families rather than a single sept, its distribution is broader than many single-origin surnames. Larkin is now found across the country but with particular density in Connacht and the midlands. It has also become well known through Dublin's twentieth-century labour history, quite apart from its earlier medieval Gaelic roots.
Variants: Larkins · O'Larkin
Famous bearers of the name
- James Larkin - Irish trade union leader who founded the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union and led the 1913 Dublin Lockout
- Delia Larkin - Trade unionist and sister of James Larkin, founder of the Irish Women Workers' Union
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murphy · Doyle · Kavanagh · Cullen · Roche · Keating · Redmond · Garvey