Origin & History

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.