Mac Amhlaoibh is masculine surname

Surname

A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...

 in the Irish language

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

. The name translates into English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 as "son of Amhlaoibh". The surname originated as a patronym, however it no longer refers to the actual name of the bearer's father. The form of the surname for unmarried females is Nic Amhlaoibh. The forms for married females are Bean Mhic Amhlaoibh and Mhic Amhlaoibh. The Irish Mac Amhlaoibh has numerous Anglicised forms. The surname has been borne by several notable Irish families

Irish clans

Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage based society prior to the 17th century.-History:...

 that are unrelated to each other.

Etymology

Mac Amhlaoibh translates into English as "son of Amhlaoibh". The surname originated as a patronym, however it no longer refers to the actual name of the bearer's father. The name Amhlaoibh is a Gaelic derivative of the Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 personal name

Personal name

A personal name is the proper name identifying an individual person, and today usually comprises a given name bestowed at birth or at a young age plus a surname. It is nearly universal for a human to have a name; except in rare cases, for example feral children growing up in isolation, or infants...

 Óláfr.

Feminine forms

Mac Amhlaoibh is a masculine surname. The form of this surname for unmarried females is Nic Amhlaoibh; this name translates into English as "daughter of the son of Amhlaoibh. The form of this surname for married females is Bean Mhic Amhlaoibh, or simply Mhic Amhlaoibh; these surnames translate to "wife of the son of Amhlaoibh.

Anglicised forms

There are numerous Anglicised forms of the surname. Anglicisations in use today include MacAuliffe

McAuliffe (surname)

McAuliffe or MacAuliffe is a surname of Norse Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Amhlaoibh , meaning "son of Amhlaoibh". The Gaelic name, Amhlaoibh, was derived from the Old Norse personal name Olaf. The surname occurs frequently in Munster, especially northern County...

, MacAuley, MacCauliffe, MacCauley, MacCawley, MacCowley, Cauley, Cawley

Cawley

Cawley is a surname in the English language. There are several different origins of the surname. In some cases the surnames are derived from any of numerous place names in England...

, and Cowley

Cowley (surname)

Cowley is a surname in the English language.-Etymology:The surname Cowley has numerous origins. In some cases it originated as a habitational name, derived from any of the several places in England named Cowley...

. Many of these English-language surnames also have unrelated origins. For example, in many cases the Irish Mac Amhalghadha and Mac Amhalghaidh

Mac Amhalghaidh

Mac Amhalghaidh is masculine surname in the Irish language. The name translates into English as "son of Amhalghaidh". The surname originated as a patronym, however it no longer refers to the actual name of the bearer's father. The form of the surname for unmarried females is Nic Amhalghaidh...

have been Anglicised into identical forms.

Families

The surname has been borne by several notable and unrelated Irish families

Irish clans

Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage based society prior to the 17th century.-History:...

. One such family was centred in County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, and seated at Castle MacAuliffe near Newmarket

Newmarket, County Cork

Newmarket, historically known as Aghatrasna , is a town in the Barony of Duhallow, County Cork, Ireland.-Sport:*Glenlara GAA and Newmarket GAA are the local Gaelic Athletic Association clubs.-People:...

. This family was a branch of the MacCarthy family

MacCarthy dynasty

The MacCarthy dynasty was one of Ireland's greatest medieval dynasties. It was and continues to be divided into several great branches. The MacCarthy Reagh, MacCarthy of Muskerry, and MacCarthy of Duhallow dynasties were the three most important of these, after the central or MacCarthy Mór...

. Another family, centred in County Fermanagh

County Fermanagh

Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....

 in the barony of Clanawley, was a branch of the Maguires of Fermanagh

Maguire of Fermanagh

List of the Macguires of Fermanagh ....

.

People with the name

Surname

• Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh
  Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh
  Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh is a musician and singer from County Kerry, Ireland. She is the lead singer from the traditional music group Danú. Her name is pronounced MWI-ren Nick OWL-eve.-Biography:...
  
  , (born 1978), Irish, musician and singer