O'Moriarty History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland
• Scotland

Etymology of O'Moriarty

While many Irish names are familiar, their past incarnations are often shrouded in mystery, reflecting the ancient Gaelic heritage of their bearers. The original Gaelic form of the name O'Moriarty is Ó Muircheartaigh, which is derived from the word "muircheartach," which means "navigator."

Early Origins of the O'Moriarty family

Early History of the O'Moriarty family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Moriarty research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1172 and 1714 are included under the topic Early O'Moriarty History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Moriarty Spelling Variations

One explanation for the many variations is that scribes and church officials frequently spelled the name as it sounded: an imprecise method at best. Understandably then, various spellings of the surname O'Moriarty were found in the many archives researched. These included Moriarty, O'Moriarty, Murtagh, Murtag, McMoriarty and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Moriarty family

More information is included under the topic Early O'Moriarty Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the O'Moriarty family

Under the rule of England, land ownership in Ireland changed dramatically, and many native Irish families found themselves renting out land to farm from absentee owners. This was one of the prime reasons that immigration to North America began in the late 18th century: Irish farmers dreamed of owning their own parcel of land to work for themselves. At this point, the immigrants were at least of modest means for the passage across the Atlantic was often quite dear. In the 1840s the Great Potato Famine created an exodus of people of quite different means. These people were most often destitute: they either sold anything they had to gain a passage or they were sponsored by philanthropic societies. Many of these immigrants were sick from disease and starvation: as a result many did not survive the long transatlantic journey. Although those settlers that did survive were often despised and discriminated against by people already established in these nations, they were critical to rapid development of the powerful industrial nations of the United States and the country that would later become known as Canada. An examination of immigration and passenger lists shows many persons bearing the name of O'Moriarty or one of its variants: Daniel, Ellen, Eugene, Margaret, Michael, Thomas Moriarty, who all settled in Boston in 1849; James, John, Martin, Maurice, and Michael Moriarty all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860..