''Ó Cadhla'' is a masculine

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

in the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

. The name translates into English as "descendant of ''Cadhla''". 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 (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, ...

, however it no longer refers to the actual name of the bearer's father. The form of the surname for unmarried females is ''Ní Chadhla''. The forms for married females are ''Bean Uí Chadhla'' and ''Uí Chadhla''. The Irish ''Ó Cadhla'' has numerous

Anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

forms.

Etymology

''Ó Cadhla'' translates into English as "descendant of ''Cadhla''". The surname originated as a

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

personal name A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...

''Cadhla'' means "beautiful", "comely", "graceful".

Feminine forms

''Ó Cadhla'' is a masculine surname. The form of this Irish surname for unmarried females is ''Ní Chadhla''; this name is actually a contracted form of ''Iníon Uí Chadhla'', which translates into English as "daughter of ''Ó Cadhla''". The form of ''Ó Cadhla'' for married females is ''Bean Uí Chadhla'', which translates into English as "wife of ''Ó Cadhla''"; this surname can also be represented in the contracted form ''Uí Chadhla''.

Anglicised forms

According to the early 20th century Irish etymologist Patrick Woulfe, ''Ó Cadhla'' has been

variously as '' Kiely'', ''Keily'', ''Kealy'', ''Kieley'','' Keely'', '' Keeley'', ''

Kelly Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Kelly'' (Kelly Price album), 2011 * ''Kelly'' (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), by Mark Charlap, 1965 * "Kelly" (song), by Kelly Rowland, 2018 * ''Kelly'' (film), Canada, 1981 * ...

'', and ''

Quealy Quealy or Quealey is a surname in the English language. It is derived from one of several names in Irish: '' Ó Cadhla'' which is a transcription of: and ''Ua Caollaidhe'' of Uí Bercháin (Ibercon) in Osraige. Notable people with the surname * ...

''. which is a transcription of: According to the Irish late 19th century

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their Lineage (anthropology), lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family ...

John O'Hart John O'Hart (; 1824–1902) was an Irish historian and genealogist. He is noted for his work on ancient Irish lineage. He was born in Crossmolina, County Mayo, Ireland. A committed Roman Catholic and Irish nationalist, O'Hart had originally pl ...

, the surnames '' O'Cawley'', '' MacCawley'', and '' Cawley'' are also Anglicised forms. which is a transcription of:

Families

According to Patrick Woulfe, the Irish surname is borne by two noted

Irish families Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...

. One family were

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

s of

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

. The other family were chiefs of Tuath Luimnigh, near the city of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. Woulfe noted that descendants of both families lived in the Irish provinces of

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

and

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

References

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

Etymology

Feminine forms

Anglicised forms

Families

See also

References