Frequency: (49397)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Cearbhaill or Ó Cearbhaill ‘son (or descendant) of Cearbhall’, a personal name of uncertain origin, perhaps from cearbh ‘hacking’ and hence a byname for a butcher or nickname for a fierce warrior.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
