Nash — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: O hAonghusa (in Munster usage); English 'atten ash'
Meaning: 'at the ash tree' (English); also used to anglicise O hAonghusa in Munster
Traditional stronghold: Clare, Limerick
Pronunciation: NASH
History of the Nash name
Nash has two quite different origins in Ireland. As a genuine English surname it comes from 'atten ash', meaning 'at the ash tree', a common medieval habitational nickname that arrived with English settlers. Separately, and more distinctively Irish, Nash was used in parts of Munster, particularly Limerick and Clare, as an anglicisation of O hAonghusa, 'descendant of Aonghus', a sept whose name was more commonly rendered as Hennessy or Guinness elsewhere in the province. This means Munster bearers of Nash may in fact descend from an old Gaelic family rather than English settlers, even though the surname itself looks entirely English. The name remains most associated with Limerick, Clare and Kerry.
Variants: Naish · Nashe
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Brien · Ryan · Kennedy · Quinn · Collins · Fitzgerald · McDonnell · McMahon