The Walsh Surname - Origins

Walsh is among the five most numerous surnames in Ireland, found throughout the country. There are concentrations of Walshes in Leinster in counties Kilkenny and Wexford, in Connacht in counties Mayo and Galway, and in Munster in counties Cork and Waterford. Walsh is a semi-translation of the early Irish surname Breathnach (click for pronunciation), meaning ‘Welsh’ or ‘Breton’, later anglicised as 'Brannagh' and 'Walsh'.

The Walsh surname has the same historical origin as Wallace, Wallis and Welch, but arrived at its present form by a more circuitous route. These surnames derive from the Anglo-Saxon / Old English term 'wælisc' (or wealas), used in different parts of early Britain to denote the native Welsh or Britons. In medieval Ireland the generic terms 'le waleys' and 'walensis' (among others) were used to indicate 'a Welshman', including some of the adventurers from Wales who arrived in the wake of the Cambro-Norman campaigns after 1169 CE. A similar phenomena occurred in other parts of the British Isles, where the Walsh name emerged from areas of Welsh settlement. In England the surname Walsh is ranked about 105th, in Scotland the surname Wallace is ranked in the top 50.

The Walsh surname in Ireland, among others, appears early in the records as Walensis, then as Waleys and le Waleys, then in the Irish form as Brenagh and Bretnagh, and eventually anglicized as Walshe, Walsh, Branagh, Brannagh, etc. Other variant spellings also exist, including surnames such as Walch, Welsh, Welch, et al.

The medieval name Waleys, or le Waleys, seems to derive from the Old Norman-French word "waleis", likely originating from the Anglo-Saxon term noted above. The name Brenagh originated from the Irish (Gaelic) term "breathnach" which signified a "Briton". Patrick Woulfe (Irish Names) lists the name Brathnagh as an older English or Anglicized form of Breathnach, but gives no date for this name. George Black (Surnames of Scotland) gives the name Braithnoch as being from the "Irish Breathnach (more anciently Breatnach), a 'Welshman'." Edward MacLysaght (Irish Families) gives the first of the name in Ireland as "Haylen Brenach, alias Walsh, son of 'Philip the Welshman' who was one of the invaders of 1172."

From Father Edmund Hogan's Onomasticon Goedelicum (Dublin, 1910) comes the term "bretanach"; now Breathnach; one of the Welsh families in Ireland, now Walsh. It also cites the term "brethnaigh"; alias Breathnacha, the Walshes or Welshmen of Iar-Connacht, Con. 19 b.

In Ireland, unlike many of the early Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Norman families such as the Burkes, the Fitzgeralds, etc, who can trace their ancestry to a small number of known individuals, the Walsh family name arose independently in many different places.

A few exceptions are mentioned in Irish history although there are others. These include 'Philip of Wales', a hero in a naval battle of 1174, whose descendants were thought to include the Walsh of the Mountain families of south-central County Kilkenny; 'David Welsh', noted at the battle of Limerick in 1175, whose descendants were cited south of Dublin at Carrickmines; and 'Walynus', who arrived about 1169, and whose descendants were stated to have settled in northern Kildare, in southern Meath, and in County Mayo, among other places.

Popular forenames in the Walsh Family during the first five centuries they lived in Ireland included Richard, Henry, William, Walter, Robert, Philip, David, Howell or Hoyle, Theobald, Edmund, Pierce, Thomas, James, John, Maurice, Oliver, and Simon.

The origin of these forenames likely relates back to the early days following the Cambro-Norman incursion into Ireland (1169-1172). Richard came from Richard de Clare (Strongbow), Walter from Gerald FitzWalter, and Henry from Henry II. Theobald, Pierce and Thomas were Butler names. Edmund came through the Butlers from the Burkes. David and Hoyle were Welsh names, as were some of the very early Walsh forenames of Griffin, Meredith, Eynon and Owen. Oliver seems to have come from the Graces, and Maurice from the Fitzgeralds. Simon was peculiar to Kildare.

Early Walshes in Ireland included the names of Walter and Robert Walsh who settled near Dublin. Later the names of Walter, Edmund and Robert ran in a series in the Castlehale family of (Co. Kilkenny) Walshes over a period of two centuries. The Philips were most numerous in Kilkenny, but most prominent, perhaps, in Kildare. The Richards were always in evidence in Dublin and Kildare, and for a time, in Tipperary. The Henrys seem to have stuck to Dublin and Wicklow. The Howels, or Hoyles, were in Kilkenny, in Dublin, and in Wexford. Nicholas appears to have been a characteristic Waterford name, and is also found in Kildare. Gilbert appeared in Dublin and Cork in the thirteenth century. It was a de Clare name which in this instance came through the Desmond Fitzgeralds.

As previously mentioned, the Walsh surname in Ireland had its Irish roots in the Welsh and Welsh-Norman clans who first participated in the Cambro-Norman invasion of Ireland. As cited by J. C. Walsh (Walsh 1170-1690), "they more than likely came from some of the leading houses of Wales." Some have placed their relation and descendancy from Owen Gwynned, Prince of North Wales, and his sons Ririd and David. Others see relation to some of the leaders of the Norman invasion including Robert FitzStephen (see possible Walsh Pedigrees), Raymond le Gros de Carew, Maurice FitzGerald, and Richard FitzGilbert de Clare. Other possible connections include Philip FitzRhys, son of Rhys, as well as Meyler FitzHenry. See also Descendants of Nesta.

Over the centuries, the Walshes in Ireland built and inhabited many strongholds. Read more about Walsh history. They married with their 'Norman' neighbors, the Butlers, Powers, Fitzgeralds, Graces, Purcells, Cantwells, Shortalls, Sheas, Archers, Comerfords, Denns, Walls, Furlongs, Devereuxs and others who came into the country with their ancestors. They often married into alliance with families of the old Irish inhabitants, the Kavanaghs, McCarthys, Brennans, O'Donnells, O'Connors, O'Rourkes and others. Of the first to enter into marriage alliances were said to be David and Philip Walsh, both to McCarthy's, late in the 12th Century. For more information on David and Philip, see Exploring Walsh Connections in Wales.

Irish Counties - Walsh in the Early Irish Counties.

England - Early Walshs in England.

France - The French Connection.

Timeline - A record of History in Ireland and Britain.

Possible Pedigrees - of the early Walshs of Ireland.

Walsh Arms - Variations on Walsh Coats of Arms.

Biographies - Short Bio's on notable Walshs, plus links to online Bios.

Place Names - Historical place-names of the family of Walsh.

Walsh of Kilkenny - Historical Perspective

Historical Database of the Family of Walsh

Confiscations - of Walsh land holdings in Ireland at the time of Cromwell.

Lament of John MacWalter - Irish caoine about Walsh of the Mountain.