Moriarty (name)

The name Moriarty is an Anglicized version of the Irish name Ó Muircheartaigh which originated in County Kerry in Ireland. ''Ó Muircheartaigh'' can be translated to mean 'navigator' or 'sea worthy', as the Irish word ''muir'' means sea (cognate to the Latin word ''mare'' for 'sea') and ''ceardach'' means skilled. Several prominent people have the Irish name Moriarty, mostly as a surname.

Using documentary evidence, flavoured by legend, researchers have isolated historical data using books by O'Hart, McLysaght and O'Brien, the Four Masters, baptismals, parish records, and ancient land grants. Despite the loss of records caused by the fire in the Dublin Records Office in 1922 which was an irreparable disaster to Irish historians, sufficient evidence is still available to produce a thumbnail sketch of the Moriarty history.

Conclusions by these researchers show that the family name Moriarty was first found in county Kerry.

Spelling variations of the names were found in the archives researched, particularly when families attempted to translate the name from the Gaelic to the English. Although the name Moriarty occurred in many references, from time to time the surname was also officially recorded as O'Moriarty, Murtagh, Murtag, Murtaugh, McMoriarty, O'Murtagh, and these changes in spelling frequently occurred, even between father and son. Preferences for different spelling variations usually arose from a division of the family, or for religious reasons, or sometimes patriotic reasons. Church officials and scribes spelt the name as it sounded, sometimes several different ways in the lifetime of the same person. The abbreviations of Mc in front of a name, meaning 'son of' is popular in Irish names, although this is no guarantee that the name is Irish. Many Scottish names also prefer Mc instead of Mac. Officially in both countries, the abbreviation is Mac. In Ireland, frequently O' is also used before a name meaning the 'grandson of'. Provided by Wikipedia