White - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: de Faoite
Meaning: Norman-English - “white”
Traditional stronghold: Wexford, Limerick
Pronunciation: WYTE; Irish de Faoite: deh FWEE-cheh
History of the White name
White reached Ireland by several roads. As le Whyte it came with the Anglo-Normans, taking root in Waterford, Limerick, Wexford and Kilkenny, where the family became de Faoite in Irish and prominent among the merchant patricians of the towns; the Whites of Clongill in Meath and of Dufferin in Down were substantial landholders. Separately, White served as a translation or approximation of several Gaelic names built on bán or fionn ('white, fair'), including Ó Bánáin (Bannon) and Mac Giolla Bháin (Kilbane, MacIlwaine), especially in Ulster and Connacht. The result is one of Ireland's most widespread surnames, dense in Down, Wexford, Limerick and Clare, with no single sept behind it.
Variants: Whyte · Whitte · MacWhite
Famous bearers of the name
- Captain Jack White - Antrim-born co-founder of the Irish Citizen Army in 1913.
- Terence de Vere White - Novelist, biographer and long-serving literary editor of the Irish Times.
- Freddie White - Cork singer-songwriter and mainstay of the Irish folk-blues scene.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murphy · O'Brien · Ryan · Doyle · Collins · Fitzgerald · Kavanagh · Hayes