O'Hehir — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: O hAichir
Meaning: 'descendant of Aichear' (aichear, meaning sharp or bitter)
Traditional stronghold: Clare
Pronunciation: oh-HAIR; Irish O hAichir: oh HAKH-ir
History of the O'Hehir name
O'Hehir derives from O hAichir, built on aichear, meaning sharp, keen or bitter, likely an original nickname describing temperament. The family were located in County Clare, and the surname has remained one of the more tightly county-specific Irish names, rarely found in significant numbers outside its Clare heartland even after centuries of general population movement. This narrow historical footprint mirrors other distinctively Clare surnames such as Nihill, suggesting a number of families in that county never dispersed widely the way many other Gaelic septs did elsewhere in Ireland. O'Hehir is still closely identified with County Clare today.
Variants: Hehir · O'Hair (rare confusion)
Famous bearers of the name
- Micheal O'Hehir — Legendary Irish sports broadcaster, the voice of GAA radio and television commentary for four decades
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Brien · Kennedy · Quinn · McDonnell · McMahon · Boland · Keane · Hogan