O'Meara — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: O Meadhra
Meaning: 'descendant of Meadhar' (possibly linked to meidhir, mirth or joy)
Traditional stronghold: Tipperary
Pronunciation: oh-MAIR-a; Irish O Meadhra: oh MAR-a
History of the O'Meara name
O'Meara derives from O Meadhra, possibly connected to meidhir, meaning mirth or joy, though the exact origin of the personal name is not entirely certain. The family were based around Toomevara in County Tipperary, an area whose name itself is thought to preserve a link to the sept, in the historic territory of Ikerrin. O'Meara held a settled position in mid-Tipperary through the medieval period, part of the dense cluster of Gaelic and Anglo-Norman families that characterised the county. The surname remains today most closely identified with Tipperary, and it produced a number of writers and public figures who carried the name into wider Irish literary and political life.
Variants: Meara · O'Mara
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Brien · Ryan · Kennedy · Carroll · Hogan · Tobin · Keating · Egan