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Anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic 'O Cearbhaill', meaning 'descendant of Cearbhall', where 'Cearbhall' is thought to derive from 'cearbh', an Old Irish word for 'hacking' in battle, carrying connotations of a fierce warrior. Several O'Carroll septs existed in medieval Ireland, the most prominent being the kings of Ely O'Carroll, a large territory straddling modern Counties Offaly and Tipperary. A separate O'Carroll dynasty ruled in County Louth, and a third in County Monaghan. The name is correspondingly spread across Leinster and Munster.