''Ó hArailt'' is a masculine

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

in the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. The name translates into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as "descendant of ''Arailt''". The surname originated as a

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

, however it no longer refers to the actual name of the bearer's grandfather. There are specific forms of the surname that are borne by married and unmarried females. There are also numerous

Anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

forms of the surname. The surname is borne by a family in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

that is said to be of Norse origin.

Etymology

''Ó hArailt'' translates into

as "descendant of ''Arailt''". The surname originated as a

, however it no longer refers to the actual name of the bearer's grandfather. The name ''Arailt'' is a

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

derivative of the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

personal name A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...

''Haraldr''.

Feminine forms

''Ó hArailt'' is a masculine surname. The form of this surname for unmarried females is ''Ní Arailt''; this name translates into English as "daughter of the descendant of ''Arailt''". The form of this surname for married females is ''Bean Uí Arailt'', or simply ''Uí Arailt''; these surnames translate to "wife of the descendant of ''Arailt''".

Anglicised forms

The surname has historically been

variously as: ''

Harold Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Arts a ...

'', and '' Harrold''. which is a transcription of:

Families

According to Patrick Woulfe, there is a family of the name in

that is apparently of Norse origin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O Harailt Irish-language masculine surnames Patronymic surnames Surnames Irish families Surnames of Irish origin