KELLEHER
Kelleher is an Irish surname of Gaelic origin, derived from the patronymic Ó Céileachair, meaning descendant of Céileachar. The personal name Céileachar itself is formed from the elements céile, “companion” or “associate”, and car, “dear” or “beloved”. Consequently the surname can be interpreted to mean “descendant of the beloved companion”.
The earliest recorded bearer of the name is the nephew of the legendary High King of Ireland, Brian Boru, who was a founder of the O’Brien dynasty. He carried the Gaelic form O Ceileachair in the early tenth century and is said to have died in a battle during the same period. The name was subsequently recorded in contemporary annals as O’ Kelleher, though it later evolved into several anglicised spellings.
Initially the Kellehers were inhabitants of County Clare, but by the fourteenth century they migrated, voluntarily or under pressure, to County Cork, with a branch establishing itself in neighbouring County Kerry. Although the clan possesses one of the earliest and most honourable lineaments in Irish history, its numbers have remained modest since the Middle Ages. Estimations place the total at about five thousand, and the surname’s influence has largely been confined to County Cork, where it is reputed to have supplied at least one Lord Mayor of the city and a number of ecclesiastical dignitaries.
During the Great Famine of 1846–1848, members of the clan emigrated in significant numbers. Among them was Julia Keller, a thirty‑year‑old labourer, who departed with her infant children Mary‑Ann and John on the ship Kalmazoo of Liverpool on 24 March 1846. She was joined the following year by Daniel Kelleher, aged twenty‑four, who left Queenstown, County Cork, aboard the John‑Ravenel bound for New York on 20 April 1847.
The surname has accumulated a wide array of orthographic variants through the process of anglicisation, regional dialectal pronunciation and clerical transcription. Common spellings include Kellegher, Keller, Keliher, Kelliher, Kellagher and Collougher. In the United Kingdom the prefix O’ is seldom used today, a consequence of the gradual diminishment of Gaelic patronymic markers under English rule.
Today, although the surname remains most common in Ireland—especially within the provinces of Munster, Cork and Kerry—it is found worldwide as a marker of the Irish diaspora. Countries with a large Irish emigrant heritage, such as the United States, Canada and Australia, contain notable populations of individuals bearing the name. Nonetheless, the presence of the name in a given family does not, by itself, confirm shared lineage, because branches of the same surname may have adopted independent spellings or entered the record at different points.
Typical given names associated with the Kelleher surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- Daniel
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Patrick
- Paul
- Sean
- Thomas
Female
- Annette
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Julie
- Karen
- Louise
- Margaret
- Mary
- Nicola
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Kelleher in...
Braille
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Morse
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Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Kelleher are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Ginger Nut.
There are approximately 3,004 people named Kelleher in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,990th most common surname in Britain. Around 46 in a million people in Britain are named Kelleher.
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Ireland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Kelleher
- Harry Kelleher - Cricketer
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.