NEWhttp://minerva.ucc.ie:6336/dynaweb/atlas/atlas/@Generic__BookTextView/1;pt=5
This is a project of the egg heads of Cork Univ and its what every little genealogist would want for Chrismass. The kind of thing I thought only the US gov would finance. Check it out as I'm not going to revise what is here already as its alot of trouble. There is even a refernece to the Normoyle in Clare on their page
Origins of Irish Surnames
Although up to the 10th century, surnames in Ireland were not
hereditary,
the influence of the church, dating from this period, can still be seen
in many common modern Irish surnames, in particular those beginning with
"Gil-" or "Kil-", an anglicised version of the Irish Giolla, meaning
follower or devotee. Thus Gilmartin, in Irish Mac Giolla Mhairtin, means
"son of a follower of (St.) Martin". Similarly, the church is the origin
of all of those names starting with "Mul-", a version of the Irish Maol,
meaning bald, and applied to the monks because of their distinctive tonsure.
Thus Mulrennan (� Maoilbhreanainn) means "descendant of a follower of St.
Brendan".While many of the names appearing in accounts of this time appear similar
in form to modern Irish names, incorporating in particular the prefix "Mac"
(meaning "son of"), in fact they were not hereditary, lasting only one
generation. Thus Turlough mac Airt, was Turlough, son of Art; his own son
would be Conor mac Turlough, Conor son of Turlough.
Nonetheless, Ireland was one of the first European countries in which a
system of fixed hereditary surnames developed. The earliest names appear to
be those incorporating "�" or its earlier form Ua, meaning "grandson".
According to Fr. Woulfe, an early authority on Irish surnames, the first
recorded fixed surname is O'Clery (� Cleirigh), as noted by the Annals,
which record the death of Tigherneach Ua Cleirigh, lord of Aidhne in Co.
Galway in the year 916. It seems likely that this is the oldest surname
recorded anywhere in Europe.
By the eleventh century many families had acquired true surnames
as we would know them today. All of these surnames incorporate the same
two basic elements, "O" or "Mac", together with the personal name of the
ancestor from whom descent is indicated. In many cases this ancestor can be
quite accurately identified, and the origin of the name dated precisely.
Thus, at the start of the eleventh century, Brian Boru possessed no surname,
being simply "Brian, High-King of the Irish", his grandson Teigue called
himself Ua Briain in memory of his illustrious grandfather, and the name
became hereditary thereafter. Similarly, the O'Neills derive their surname
from Niall mac Aoiodh, who died in 917.
Due to linguistic changes, the origins of many of the personal
names such as Niall or Brian which form the stem of the surname remain
obscure, but two broad categories can be distinguished, descriptive and
occupational. In the first category, we can guess that the progenitor of
the Traceys (� Treasaigh) was a formidable character, treasach meaning
"war-like", while the ancestor of the Duffs must have been dark-featured,
since dubh, the root of the name, means black or dark. Among the
occupations recorded in names are the churchmen dealt with above, clerks
(Clery, � Cleirigh, from cleireach), bards (Ward, Mac an Bhaird, from bard),
spokesmen (MacCloran, Mac Labhrain, from the Irish labhraidh), and smiths
(McGowan, Mac Gabhainn, from gabhann). One category of name, common in
English, which is extremely rare among Irish names is the toponymic,
deriving from the name of a locality. It seems likely that this reflects the
fact that, for the Gaels, who you were related to was much more important than where you came from.
Although the immediate reason for the early adoption of hereditary
names in Ireland may have been a rapidly expanding population, it can also
be
seen as the logical outcome of a process at work from the times of the
earliest tribal names. Originally, these indicated
identification with a common god, often connected with an animal valued by
the tribe, in the case of the Osraige, or "deer-people", for example. Next
came identification with a divine ancestor, the Boandrige, for instance,
claiming descent from the goddess Boand, the divinised river Boyne. Later
the ancestor was merely legendary, as for the Eoghanachta, while later
still the tribe claimed direct descent from a historical ancestor, as in
the case of the Ui Neill. This slow emergence of kin-relationships out of
religion and myth into the realm of history would seem to reach its
logical conclusion with the adoption of hereditary surnames, permanent
proof of verifiable ties of blood. On a more mundane level, of course,
such proof was a valuable political asset, since it demonstrated membership
of a powerful kin-group. Even today, the fact that all Gaelic names, without
exception, begin with
� or Mac is undeniable and continuing proof of the significance of family
and kin for the Irish.
Although it began early, the process of the creation of surnames was
slow, and continued for over six hundred years. As the population grew and
new families were formed, they sought to consolidate their identity by
adopting hereditary surnames of their own, usually by simply adding MAC to
the first name of the founding ancestor. In the course of this process,
then, many surnames were created which are in fact offshoots of more common
names. Thus, for example, the MacMahons and the McConsidines are descended
from the O'Brien family, the former from Mahon O'Brien, who died in 1129,
the latter from Constantine O'Brien, who died in 1193. The continuing
division and sub-division of the most powerful Gaelic families like this
is almost certainly the reason for the great proliferation of Gaelic
surnames.
IRISH SURNAMES AND GENEALOGIES
The ancient Irish were one of the earliest people to place great importance
on genealogy.
O'Donovan, in the "Miscellany of the Celtic Society (1849) writes:
"Those of the lowest rank among a great tribe traced and retained the whole
line of their descent with the same care which in other nations was
peculiar to the rich and great; for, it was from his own genealogy each
man of the tribe, poor as well as rich, held the charter of his civil
state, his right of property in the cantred in which he was born, the
soil of which was occupied by one family or clan, and in which no one
lawfully possessed any portion of the soil if he was not of the same
race as the chief." Ancient Ireland was a patriarchial society. Wealth
was measured in land and cattle. When a male died his wealth was passed
to others in a set fashion. Therefore knowledge of ones blood kin was
important. The fine was the family group and included all relations
in the male line of descent for five generations. In the fine was
invested the ultimate ownership of family land, fintiu.
If anyone died without immediate heirs, his property was distributed among
his more distant relations in well-defined proportions. The individuals
as such had few or no legal rights-these were contingent on his membership
of the fine. In event disputes arose in the distribution the brehon (men
learned in the traditional Brehon Law) would resolve the issue. Because of
the above ancestors were known. And in the case of the wealthy and noble
families the ramifications of the fine made it imperative for these families
to carefully preserve their genealogies--a function which was committed
to the learned senchaid (poet).
John O"Hart in his book "Irish Pedigees"
writes: "In the eleventh century, the Irish monarch Brian Boru made an
ordinance that every irish family and clan should assume a particular surname
(or sire-name); the more correctly to preserve the history and genealogy of
the different Irish tribes. Each family was at liberty to adopt a sirname
from some particular ancestor, and generally, took their names from some
chief of their tribe who was celebrated for his valour, wisdom, peity, or
some other great qualities. And the members of a family, each in addition to
his own proper name, took, as a common designation, the name of their father,
or their grandfather, or of some remote ancestor: in the first case
prefixing the "Mac," which means son; and, in the other two cases, "Ua"
(modernized O'), which signifies grandson or descendant of; and in all
instances, the genitive case of the progenitor's name followed the "Mac" or
the "O"".
Edward McLysaght writes in his book Irish Surnames the following:
Prior to Brian Boru there was no such thing as a "Proper" last name. People
had one name, nick names, or were named after their father or occupation
etc..so around 1,000 A.D. Irishmen began taking last names.
A man could choose a last name from several sources, i.e: 1. His
fathers name (i.e. son of Brien, Mac Brien) 2. A place name (name of his
town, or geographic area) 3. A descriptive name(i.e. strong man or strongman)
4. The name of a hero, family leader, or saint, etc. The names were not
engraved in stone from the beginning of time. A great deal had to do with
personal choice so, Irish names came into being and soon started to change
in
form and spelling. The original Irish family names were taken from the
Gaelic language as the language changed over the years, so did the spelling
of names. Names were changed quite a bit when it was translated into English
(about 1600's). What's more, it was translated differently by members of the
same family who was to say what the "correct" spelling was? Lastly, names
continued to change in Ireland. The "O" and MAC" prefixes before most Irish
names were dropped due to political pressure at times. The names
were often spelled as a matter of personal choice. There were bigger problems
to worry about, like basic survival. By the time families arrived in America
names had already been through a lot of changes. Once in America other
changes have occurred. MacLysacht lists some distinctive features of Irish
family names as follows; Common prefixzes include: MAC, MC O, Kil, Gil,
Mag, Mul and Fitz. MAC, MC, and MAG. MAC basically stands for "son of'
or descendent of. MC is simply a shortened form of MAC, and the two are
used interchangably. MAG may spring from several sources. It can come from
a name starting with MACG, such as MAC Guire, and become shortened to
Maguire. These prefixes can be Scottish or Irish. (Mag Mac Giolia) O.
The "O" before Irish names stands for "Grandson" or "Descendent of". The
apostrophe following
the O, likely stands for the ancient Gaelic accent mark. Unlike "MAC",
the "O" prefix is considered exclusively Irish. KIL, GIL. At the beginning
of Irish names these letters usually mean "follower of" or "servant of".
Furthermore, there is usually a religiousd significance as in "Kilbride"
(meaning follower of St. Bridget). They spring from the ancient Gaelic
"Giolla". FITZ. This Norman prefix stands basically for "son of". Fitz has
remained in Irish names while disappearing elsewhere. Common endings in
Irish names: A, L, IN, ON, Y. Common lettes in Irish names GH, as in
ODonaghue. THE SURNAME The following is a compilation from various sources
regarding our surname. The purpose of the following lenghty article is give
clues as to possible variant spellings of the name and hopefully be of some
assistance in further research on the name and tracing back the linage of
our ancestors. The surname is a family name not a clan name...
" Although it began early, the process of the creation of surnames was
slow, and continued for over six hundred years. As the population grew
and new families were formed, they sought to consolidate their identity
by adopting hereditary surnames of their own, usually by simply adding MAC
to the first name of the founding ancestor. In the course of this process,
then, many surnames were created which are in fact offshoots of more common
names. Thus, for example, the MacMahons and the McConsidines are descended
from the O'Brien family, the former from Mahon O'Brien, who died in 1129,
the latter from Constantine O'Brien, who died in 1193. The continuing
division and sub-division of the most powerful Gaelic families like this
is almost certainly the reason for the great proliferation of Gaelic
surnames together with the personal name of the ancestor from whom descent
is indicated."
The most recent and probably the most respected author is Edward MacLysaght
MA, DLitt., MRIA. Dr. MacLysaght has written several books on the subject
or Irish surnames, i.e., The Surnames of Ireland, Irish Surnames, and More
Irish Familes. The books have been published by the Irish Academic Press.
Mac Confhormaoile is the original name of the Normile Normoyle family as
far as I can find out. It is probably an offshoot of the MacNamaras. And
considering the relatively small # of Norms* it seems to me this was
relatively late. I found a reference to A Mac Confhormaoile in 1603, which
I am still tying to find out about. The records are at the National Library
in Dublin.
The MacNamaras, next to the O'Briens were the most powerful Dalcasian
clan. These were the people who lived in ancient Thormand, which was parts
of Co. Limerick and Co.Clare. Original territory of Mac Namaras was Vie
Caissin present deanery of Ogashin(see map), now 9 parishes in east of Co
Clare. This is east of Ennis. But they were expanding their range up untill
Cromwell when everything in Ireland changed much for the worse. This is when
the vast majority of Irish had their land stolen by the English. The locations
I have found, which are almost all after 1800, are in west Clare or North
Limerick adjacent to Clare. This is outside of the area controlled by the
Macnamaras as far as I've been able to find out so far.
Normile or Normoyle
Normile is more angilicized or so it seemed for a long while, and I've
found it from 1787. The problem is I'm not hearing the names in Gaelic or
even with an Irish accent. I've had some Gaelic speakers on the internet tell
me it isn't or may not be more anglicized. And so Normile
is maybe not a more anglicized form though it appeared to be to me. .
It is in the form Mac Enormoyle in 1603 at least Old records(1800s) have
several other spellings because it was
usually the parish priest, or some official who wrote the name and spelled
the best the could or how it sounded. Most of our family was probably illiterate
till at least the 1860s.
In US census records I've found several variations.
3 or 4 US cousins who have written me thought Normile had come from Normoyle, and it was the
original, while Maurice
Normile (born1866) came to Australia about 1887 and changed his from
Normile to Normoyle. He had 12 brother and sisters back in Glin Co.
Limerick, "some Normile some Normoyle.""Oceans of Consoladation" (1856-65), Mary
Normoyle (the great granddaughter of Timothy Normile, from the book) made
the letter available to the editor. I wrote her and she says she has no idea
why the name was changed to Normoyle. They are from CLare where in the 1855
records almost all of the Clare family were Normiles. Most in Limerick were
Normoyle, except Glin where I have several examples of Normiles. Huber Normyle
whose grandfather came from Glin says he spelled the name Normile, Normoyle and
finally Normyle.
And of course one Normoyle thought their family originally spelled it more closely
to Normile. It seems that until recently it was common knowledge that the
names were just variations. Some people today spell it Normyle or Normille
but these are the great minority, just troublemakers . One cousin said
they thought it was changed to Normile to "sound more American".
What seems to have happened was in the late 1800s and early 1900s alot of Normiles
changed it back to Normoyle. this explains why there are so many more Normoyles
than Normiles in Irleand but the reverse is true in the US where most had immigrated before 1900
I've wondered about the pronunciation of the name in Ireland. When name
was first anglicized almost everyone still spoke gaelic and even when
English become common was the difference between the names as great as
it is for those of us we speak American.
Some spellings I've found, and there are names from Scandanavia, and Italy that are similar. Normali, Mormile. This Italian Mormile is so close I put a queston on their families message board. One of them said it dates back in Italy too far to be ours and they claim to know where it originated and from who. In the immigration record from Ellis Island in New York there are dozens of Italians spelling the name Normile but never in the census.
Narmile
Normide
Norment
Normight
Normaly Michael
Normill Kate
Noremile Johnn
Normeile John
Some spellings found on the �Family Tree Maker� index CD. It�s a company that sells various genealogy CD�s. CDs for Social Security Deaths , censuses, passenger lists, military lists for example.
Narment
Narmil john H possibly NY in �military records� to 1840
Narmine Mary married 1851-1900 Ill
Several others with Narmine spelling.
Normal There is Normal family that is not Irish. I found this spelling only umong newly arrived Irish who probably weren't understood by the people taking their names down. In later years it was corrected
Normaly
Normally
Normelie
Normell several with this spelling but at least one was German
Normil
Normilan
Normilie
Normiley
Normoile
Normolle
Normul
Normyl
Normyle
Some of the
variations in the spelling would make you think there were 5 or 6 names
but when the Irish first came over alot of names were spelled various ways
for a while until they became more standardized.You can see this in the
censuses. How after a few decades it settled down to only 4 real spellings Normile,Normyle Normoyle and rarely Normayle
Meaning of the name.
Mac Confhormaoile or Mac Conf~ormaoile or Mac Conformaoile I found various
spellings. Confhormaoile is the written form and Conformaoile is how it is
spoken according to one source. But fh is silent But its written in gaelic
so it sounds like " mock kun urr moeylah" or so I've been told
Edward MacLysaght says in "Suppliment to Irish Families".
"(Mac) Normoyle "Woulfe gives Mac Confhormaoile for this. We know from National Library
MS. G. 841 that this was a suggestion make by Richard Foley and accepted by
Father Woulfe. I think it is correct: the form MacEnormoyle appears in a
Faint of 1603. Formaoile is the obsolete name of a castle in Co Clare, the
county in which Normoyle is mainly associated; the form Normile is more
usual in the adjacent county of Limerick"
Note This is a mistake I have records from 1855 and its reversed Clare in Normile
and Limerick is Normoyle mostly. The real truth is its both forms in both counties with some spellings more likely in certain areas.
Rev Woulfe says about us.
"Mac Conformaoile--IV--M'Enormyle Normoyle, Normile; 'son of Cu Formaoile'
(hound of Formoyle, a place in Co. Clare); the name of a Clare family who
are probably a branch of the MacNamaras (v. Mac Conmara) now common in
Co.Limerick; in the spoken language Mac Conormaoile"
MacLysaght and Woulfe are the two real authories on this stuff. Other books just
tell what these guys had to say or say nothing.
I am still checking everything out about these two statements. I'm assuming
that if its true about the MacNamaras then this castle would be in territory
of theirs. But they were expanding up untill 1600 and the relativly small
number of Norm*s may mean it was relativly late the family orignated. It could mean they were killed in any of the many wars in the last 700 years.
Below is an answere I got when I wrote to see about checking MacLysaghts notes. I ain't one to believe something without checking and the books leave too much out of what they know.
"MacLysaght's manuscript notes on family history are held by
the Manuscripts Department of the National Library. Your
cousins would be welcome to consult them here.
To gain admission to the library they would need to bring
ID such as passport or driver's licence, etc.
I should forewarn you, also, that the MacLysaght material
is pretty chaotic and going through it may be time consuming.
This Office does not any longer deal with genealogical
queries. For a list of professional researchers you should contact the
Genealogical Consultancy Service of the National Library.
Gerard Lyne
(Assistant Keeper) "
Other Names people have given me, or I've found
1.Conor Normile Dublin thinks it originated in Limerick the county
" the irish meaning for the name is 'golden hound of maoile', but
i'm not certain." I got his from him recently.
But (he told my brother several years ago ) another candidate
from Conor
"while the name seeems to be an originallly Irish name. Normile in
Irish=Macconormaoile, i.e son of Conor of Maoile. Maoile is a small
island off the west coast of Ireland." I can't find any island of Maoile
have searched internet checked all over. Can't find it in the Shannon among
all the samll islands listed in Griffiths valuation.
Two different stories from Conor at different times. The latest is
close to what I found.
2. John R. Normile, Jr. wrote me " When in Ireland some years ago,
a Normile there told me the name meant (in Gaelic) "son of the bald man."
This was from a Michael Normile in Clonme, Ireland. There are several
Michael Normiles in Ireland. Maybe someone knows who this is. Maole ?
means bald so maybe that is here he got that
3. Mac chun formaoile (son of the scourge of maoile)
I have 1 source(cousin) for this, who gave no evidence
4. From the Vikings. My brother was told by someone from ? it meant
something like "fish seller"
I have found a few names from Scandanavia that are that sorta resemble ours.
mac= son of
chun= unto.untill:chun a bhait, unto the town
formaoile place, a bare hill, or bare plain
4 Word meanings from dictionaries and what people on the internet sent me
The "moy" prefix is probably
"Magh" (maw) meaning plain or other
land type, changing to "moy" and "muey" "Maighe"and "Muigh" depending on
usage.
For example "Mayo" is Muigh Eo the plain of the yew tree(?s)
From another source:
Moy, (magh): a plain, plain of hills
another source
Moy =Plain
Moyard =High plain
Moyle =Bare hill
The dictionary:
maoile = baldness or barneness
for = superior, super, outer, extreme, external, great,, extreme
another source
for = ar, a prep. meaning on, in or at
and mael - from 'meall', a lump or mass
combined, these form a compound used to signify a round hill
and are found in the forms Formoyle, Fermoyle and Formil and
constitutes the names of some 29 townlands throughout Ireland(townland is
the smallest division. there are 64000 townlands) a large number of these
are in Co Clare.
nor= I have found nothing except that a few familes have the Nor-.
According to THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF IRISH NAMES OF PLACES by P.W. Joyce:
Forramoyle in Galway - the red and the bald or bare meeting place.
Forr is taken from the word forrach or farrach - a meeting place.
Book Irish Place Names by
Deirdre Flanagan & Lauarence Flanagan says that Moyle ( mael) in
Tyrone means hill."
"Mac" means son of
"con" in gaelic dictionary points to "cu'" meaning dog , or hound.
FORMOYLE PLACENAMES IN CLARE
Placename
County
Civil Parish
Poor Law Union
Formoyle Beg
Clare
Killokennedy
Limerick
Formoyle More
Clare
Killokennedy Limerick
Formoyle Eighteragh
(East) Clare
Inagh
Formoyle Eighteragh
(West)Clare
Inagh
Ennistimon
Formoyle Oughteragh (East)
Clare
Inagh
Ennistimon
Formoyle Oughteragh (West)
Clare
Inagh
Ennistimon
Formoyle West
Clare
Killonaghan
Ballyvaghan
Formoyle East
Clare
Killonaghan
Ballyvaghan
These Formoyles are all paired. For ex. Formoyle east and west are adjacent to
ech other. There wer no Norm*s living in any of them in 1855 or 182
according to the evidence. Formoyle is the modern spelling Formoile, Fermoyle
are older forms.
From a book on Irish placenames I found.
Fermoyle cas. in Kerry doesn't say what cas. is abbreviation for but is
it castle?
I've looked up Formoyle, formaoile, and Fermoyle in half a dozen books on
placesnames in Ireland and found nothing else.
Mac Conformaoile
cu'=hound
1. "Ulster Cycle" ancient Irish story
"The greatest of Irish heroes was named 'the hound of the smith.' The
warrior as a boy killed the smith's dog and volunteered to serve in its
place until a replacement was found. Dogs were very popular in Celtic times
and appear in several important ancient legends"
2. From "Ancient Irish Tales" story "Tales of the Tuatha Danann" p78
"And he went to his ship, and they went forward to seek the Hill of Midcain.
And when they arrived upon the hill. Midcain, the guardian of the hill,
came towards them; and when Brian saw him he attacked him and the fight of
those two champions ..."
So the champion or guardian of the hill is named after the hill.
I have found several other similar stories all saying the same basic thing.
In Rev Woulfes book I saw about a dozen other families named Cu' of
something usually a place, just like us.MacNamara comes from Con mara meaning
hound of the sea
This is alledgedly the traditional irish naming pattern. I have not found it to be
true here in the US, for the great majority of us. But some Normy families have other naming traditions they have told me about.
The 1st son is usually named after the father's father.
The 2nd son was usually named after the mother's father.
The 3rd son was usually named after the father.
The 4th son was usually named after the father's eldest brother
The 5th son was usually named after the mother's eldest brother.
The 1st daughter was usually named after the mother's mother
The 2nd daughter was usually named after the father's mother
The 3rd daughter was usually named after them mother
The 4th daughter was usually named after the mother's eldest sister
The 5th daughter was usually named after the father's eldest sister
This pattern was not always followed exactly, but most would usually keep
the patten for the first three children. If there was a name that was
found in every generation (example John, William, Edward, Charles, etc),
then somewhere in their children you would surely find these names. If one
is stuck on finding parents for an ancestor, try this pattern to qive one a
suggestion as to a name to search for" HOME
