Origin of the Name Sullivan

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="097f0f21egerdp.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#66334C" FACE="Arial" ><B>Our Family  Past and Present</B></FONT><B>      |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Family Past and Present"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id369.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Eirinn"><U>Eirinn</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id243.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Co Leitrim"><U>Co Leitrim</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id249.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Irish Speakers"><U>Irish Speakers</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id248.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oughteragh"><U>Oughteragh</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id377.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cafferty Genealogy Chart"><U>Cafferty Genealogy Chart</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id246.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Caffertys"><U>The Caffertys</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id156.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mary Theresa Cafferty"><U>Mary Theresa Cafferty</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Creamer"><U>Creamer</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id395.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Origin of the Name OBrien"><U>Origin of the Name O'Brien</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id376.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OBrien Genealogy Chart"><U>O'Brien Genealogy Chart</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id333.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The OBriens of Leitrim"><U>The O'Briens of Leitrim</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id375.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The OBrien Farm"><U>The O'Brien Farm</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Patrick Farrell OBrien"><U>Patrick Farrell O'Brien</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id177.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Farrells of Co Longford "><U>The Farrells of Co Longford </U></A>   |   <A HREF="id346.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Battle of 1798"><U>Battle of 1798</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mary Farrell"><U>Mary Farrell</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id244.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="County Kerry"><U>County Kerry</U></A>   |   <B>Origin of the Name Sullivan</B>   |   <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Florence Sullivan"><U>Florence Sullivan</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="096f2f02egerdp.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="099f0f03.jpg"> <div> <I>Origin of the Name Sullivan</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> O'Sullivan is among the top three of Irish surnames coming only after Murphy and Kelly in frequency. In Munster (the most southern of the four provinces) it is easily the most common surname being concentrated in counties Cork and Kerry. </div> <div> O'Sullivan is the anglicised form of the Gaelic Ó Suileabháin whose exact derivation is in doubt. Certainly the root of the name is 'Súil' meaning eye. However the additional stem 'eabháin' is variously translated as 'hawk-eyed', 'one-eyed' or even 'black-eyed'. </div> <div> Griffith's Valuation, a comprehensive listing of those who rented land/property throughout Ireland in the 1850s, records a total of 7858 occupiers named 'Sullivan' (with only a handful using the older form of 'O'Sullivan'. Of these 3388 were found in County Cork with the majority of the remainder being in the neighbouring county Kerry and two to three hundred each in counties Limerick, Tipperary, Clare and Waterford. </div> <div> This high concentration in the counties of the south-east accurately indicates the origins of the family. Descended from Eoghan Mór, they were one of the most powerful families of the Munster Eoghanacht, the others being the O'Callaghans, MacCarthys and O'Keefes. </div> <div> The Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century pushed the family further south into the areas where they multiplied and divided. The two most important branches were O'Sullivan Mór based at Dunkerron Castle on Kenmare Bay and O'Sullivan Beare whose territories included the baronies of Beare and Bantry. </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>