O'Hara - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó hEaghra
Meaning: descendant of Eaghra
Traditional stronghold: Sligo
Pronunciation: oh-HAR-a; Irish Ó hEaghra: oh HAR-a
History of the O'Hara name
The O'Haras, Ó hEaghra, take their name from Eaghra, a tenth-century lord of Luighne, the territory that survives as the barony of Leyny in County Sligo. The sept divided into two great branches, Ó hEaghra Buidhe (the tawny) and Ó hEaghra Riabhach (the grizzled), whose chiefs held sway around Ballymote and Coolaney. In the fourteenth century a branch migrated north and established itself in the glens of Antrim, where the name also took root. Unusually, the O'Haras of Sligo retained lands and standing through the confiscations, and O'Hara Brook and Annaghmore remained in family hands into modern times.
Variants: O'Harra · Hara · Haras
Famous bearers of the name
- Maureen O'Hara - Dublin-born Hollywood star of The Quiet Man, born Maureen FitzSimons.
- Mary O'Hara - Sligo harpist and soprano who brought Irish song to international audiences.
- John O'Hara - Irish-American novelist, author of Appointment in Samarra.
- Frank O'Hara - Irish-American poet at the heart of the New York School.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: McGowan · Boland · Higgins · Feeney · O'Dowd · Harte · McDonagh · Finn