County Wexford’s surnames reflect the diverse waves of Gaelic, Norse, Norman, and English settlement that have shaped the county over centuries. Below is a selection of surnames prevalent throughout the county, organised by their period of origin.
The earliest surnames in the county are of Gaelic origin, with some appearing before the 8th century.
Cullen: The Cullen family is primarily found in Dublin and the south-east, in counties Wexford and Wicklow. The name is of Gaelic origin and appeared before the 8th century.
Kinsella: This name is of Gaelic origin. It derives from the Irish word “Cinnsealach,” which translates to “Proud.” Kinsella is one of the few Irish surnames that did not use the “Mac” or “O'” prefix.
Cosgrave: The surname Cosgrave derives from Gaelic words that translate to “victorious” and “triumphant.” During the 19th century, there were 159 Cosgrave households in the county. The surname Cosker is an anglicised version of the name.
Larkin: The surname Larkin is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic surname O Lorcain. The English version of the surname is short for the name Laurence. The county also contains a place called Larkin’s Cross.
Murphy: This is the most popular surname in Ireland. County Wexford in particular was a stronghold for the Murphy clan, as it held several territories there.
Kirwan: The Kirwan family were mostly situated in counties Wexford and Galway. The surname derives from the old Gaelic name O’ Ciardhubhan.
The arrival of the Vikings in the 9th century brought Norse-influenced surnames to the region.
Doyle: The name Doyle is of Norse origin and likely appeared in Ireland following the arrival of the Vikings in the 9th century. The name derives from a Gaelic phrase that translates to “the dark stranger.”
The Norman invasion of 1169 introduced a distinct group of surnames to the county.
Codd: The Codd family likely arrived in Ireland after the Norman invasion in 1169. A Primary Valuation property survey from the 1800s shows that there were 159 Codd households in Wexford, far more than in any other county.
Devereux: This surname translates to “from Evreux,” which is a town in the Normandy region of France.
Roche: Roche is an Anglo-Norman surname that appeared in Wexford after the invasion of 1169. The Norman tower house in Ferrycarrig was built by the Roche family during the 1400s.
Whitty: Whitty is an Anglo-Norman surname brought to Ireland in the 13th century, where it became a prominent family in Wexford. Ballyteigue Castle in Kilmore was built by a Norman settler called Sir Walter de Whitty. The name’s exact origin is uncertain. Variants include Whittey, Whitie, and Whitey.
Later centuries saw the arrival of English and Scottish surnames.
Colfer: The surname Colfer is of English origin, likely an altered form of the English names Culver or Colliver. Wexford author Eoin Colfer is a notable bearer of the name.
Crosbie: The Crosbie family lived primarily in Wexford and Kerry. The name is of Scottish origin.
Rossiter: This surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin. Settlers with this name likely came from places named Rochester in England, though the specific location remains disputed. Some sources point to Kent or Northumberland, while others suggest Lincolnshire. A survey from the 1800s shows that there were 168 Rossiter households in the county.
Stafford: Stafford is an English surname that derives from the town of the same name in the West Midlands of England.
Shiggins: Shiggins is a relatively rare surname that, during the property survey of 1847-64, appeared exclusively in Wexford.
These surnames represent a cross-section of the county’s varied heritage, with distribution patterns that continue to reflect centuries of settlement history.
Census data (1901-1926)
Wexford Hub compiled the names of more than 75,000 people recorded in the 1901, 1911, and 1926 census returns. The top 25 most common surnames across this period were:
1. Murphy (3,806)
2. Doyle (1,928)
3. Roche (1,389)
4. Walsh (1,308)
5. Furlong (1,248)
6. Kehoe (1,093)
7. Byrne (1,063)
8. Nolan (807)
9. Kelly (753)
10. Redmond (668)
11. Cullen (632)
12. Whelan (598)
13. Hayes (566)
14. Sinnott (562)
15. Rossiter (487)
16. Power (475)
17. Browne (475)
18. O’Connor (463)
19. Kavanagh (444)
20. Brien (433) (short for O’Brien)
21. Ryan (432)
22. Leary (420)
23. Connors (407)
24. White (402)
25. Carroll (397)
Note that many of these surnames are not distinctively associated with Wexford, as they were common across Ireland as a whole.