Russell — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ruiséil
Meaning: 'red-haired' (Norman French rous)
Traditional stronghold: Limerick, Down
Pronunciation: RUSS-ul; Irish Ruiséil: rish-AYL
History of the Russell name
Russell derives from the Norman French rous ('red'), a nickname for a red-haired man, and arrived in Ireland with the earliest Anglo-Norman settlement. The principal medieval family held lands in Lecale, County Down, around Downpatrick and Killough, and remained a leading Catholic gentry family of the region for centuries; other branches settled in Dublin, Meath and Limerick, where Russells became prominent merchants. The name in Ireland thus predates and is largely independent of the great English house of Russell. Its Irish bearers span an extraordinary range: United Irish martyrs, IRA chiefs of staff, and the poet-economist George William Russell, who signed himself Æ.
Variants: Russel · Rossell
Famous bearers of the name
- Thomas Russell — United Irishman, 'the man from God knows where', executed in 1803 for supporting Emmet's rising.
- George William Russell (Æ) — Lurgan-born poet, painter, mystic and champion of the Irish co-operative movement.
- Seán Russell — IRA chief of staff who launched the 1939 bombing campaign in Britain.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Brien · Ryan · Murray · Collins · Fitzgerald · Hayes · Sheehan · O'Riordan