American Family Name Origins:
O'Connor
Frequency: (30953)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Irish (Derry, Connacht, Munster): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Conchobhair ‘descendant of Conchobhar’, a personal name which is said to have begun as Cú Chobhair, from cú ‘hound’ (genitive con) + cobhar ‘desiring’, i.e. ‘hound of desire’. Present-day bearers of the surname claim descent from a 10thcentury king of Connacht of this name. In Irish legend, Conchobhar was a king of Ulster who lived at around the time of Christ and who adopted the youthful Cú Chulainn.
GIVEN NAMES: Irish 6%. Brendan (32), Siobhan (7), Donal (6), Aileen (5), Kieran (5), Aidan (4), Colm (4), Fitzgerald (4), Liam (4), Caitlin (3), Eamon (3), Niall (3).
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
