Quigley - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Coigligh
Meaning: “untidy-haired”
Traditional stronghold: Derry, Donegal
Pronunciation: KWIG-lee; Irish Ó Coigligh: oh KIG-lee
History of the Quigley name
Ó Coigligh is generally explained as coming from coigeal, a distaff, applied as a nickname to someone with unkempt or dishevelled hair. The sept originated among the Uí Fiachrach in north Mayo, but was dispersed at an early date, and the name became most numerous in the northern counties of Donegal, Derry and Sligo, where it remains strongest today. A branch that settled in Wexford anglicised the same Irish name as Cogley. The Quigleys produced many priests and emigrant clergy; the name travelled heavily to Britain and North America in the nineteenth century and is now found throughout the English-speaking world.
Variants: Quigly · Cogley · O'Quigley
Famous bearers of the name
- James Edward Quigley - Archbishop of Chicago in the early twentieth century, born to Irish emigrant parents.
- Jason Quigley - Donegal middleweight boxer, world amateur silver medallist and professional contender.
- Joan Quigley - American astrologer famously consulted by the Reagan White House.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Connor · Gallagher · Boyle · Doherty · Sweeney · O'Donnell · Duffy · McLoughlin