''Mac Amhlaoibh'' 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 "son of '' Amhlaoibh''". 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 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 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. The surname has been borne by several notable Irish families that are unrelated to each other.

Etymology

''Mac Amhlaoibh'' translates into English as "son of '' Amhlaoibh''". The surname originated as a

, however it no longer refers to the actual name of the bearer's father. The name '' Amhlaoibh'' 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 ...

Óláfr Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" ...

''.

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'', '' MacAuley'', '' MacCauliffe'', '' MacCauley'', '' MacCawley'', '' MacCowley'', ''

Kewley Kewley is a surname of Manx origin, derived from ''Mac Amhlaoibh'', meaning "son of ''Amhlaoibh''". It may refer to the following notable people: * Edward Kewley (1852–1940), English sportsman who played rugby union for England and cricket for L ...

'' (on the Isle of Man), Cauley, ''

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. In other cases the surnames are derived from any of several Gae ...

'', and '' Cowley''., which is a transcription of: Many of these English-language surnames also have unrelated origins. For example, in many cases the Irish '' Mac Amhalghadha'' and ''

Mac Amhalghaidh ''Mac Amhalghaidh'' is an Irish masculine surname. The name translates into English as "son of '' Amhalghadh''". 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 ...

'' have been Anglicised into identical forms., which is a transcription of:

Families

The surname has been borne by several notable and unrelated Irish families. One such family was centred in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, and seated at

Castle MacAuliffe A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

near Newmarket. This family was a branch of the MacCarthy family. Another family, centred in

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

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

People with the name

;Surname *

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (born 1978) is a musician and singer from County Kerry, Ireland. Until 2016, she was the lead singer for the traditional music group Danú, and from that year on she has been half of the electronica duo Aeons. Biography ...

, (born 1978), Irish, musician and singer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mac Amhlaoibh Irish-language masculine surnames Patronymic surnames Surnames Irish families Surnames of Irish origin Families of Irish ancestry