Etymological list of counties of Ireland is a list of the origins of the names of thetraditional counties of Ireland, both north and south, including counties that are no longer used.
Unless otherwise state, the origin of a name is from Irish.
| County name | Established | Province | Irish name | Derivation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim | c.1400 | Ulster | Aontroim | Named after the town ofAntrim, which comes fromAontroim, meaning "lone ridge". It was formerly speltAontruim. An older alternative name wasAontreibh meaning "lone dwelling".[1] The county was formed by merging a number of other counties in the Earldom of Ulster, notableTwescard, from the IrishTuaisceart, "North" and Carrickfergus, from the IrishCarraig Fhearghais, named afterFergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th-century king ofDál Riata. |
| Armagh | 1584/5 | Ulster | Ard Mhacha | Named after the town ofArmagh, which comes fromArd Mhacha, meaning "Macha's height". Macha was an Irish goddess associated with Ulster and Armagh, where she is said to have given birth to twins after racing a horse. |
| Carlow | 1210[2] | Leinster | Ceatharlach | Named after the town ofCarlow, which comes fromCeatharlach, meaning "place of cattle". |
| Cavan | 1579 | Ulster | An Cabhán | Named after the town ofCavan, which comes fromAn Cabhán, meaning "the hollow". |
| Clare | 1565 | Munster | An Clár | Possibly named after the town ofClarecastle, which is made up of the Irishclár ("plain") and the Englishcastle. Alternatively, it may come from theNormande Clare family, who took their name in turn from the English town ofClare, which probably gets its name from the Latinclarus, "clear". Before 1565, the county was known as CountyThomond (IrishTuamhain, fromTuadhmhumhain, meaning "North Munster"). |
| Cork | c. 1200 | Munster | Corcaigh | Named after the city ofCork, which comes fromcorcach, meaning "swamp". |
| Donegal | 1584/5 | Ulster | Dún na nGall | Named after the town ofDonegal, which comes fromDún na nGall, meaning "stronghold of the foreigners" (i.e. theVikings). An alternative name for the county isTyrconnell or Tirconnell, after a Gaelic territory of the same name. This comes fromTír Chonaill, meaning "land of Conall" and is named afterConall Gulban, a son ofNiall of the Nine Hostages, whosedescendants founded the territory. Conall means "Strong Wolf" in Irish. |
| Down | early 16th century | Ulster | An Dún | The name is derived fromDún ná Lethglas, the capital of theDál Fiatach, now modern dayDownpatrick.[3] |
| Dublin | 1185 | Leinster | Áth Cliath/Duibhlinn | Named after the city ofDublin, which comes fromDuibhlinn, meaning "black pool".Áth Cliath means "hurdled ford" and is the main Irish name for Dublin. |
| Fermanagh | 1584/5 | Ulster | Fear Manach | "Men of Manach". Manach may come from Old IrishMagh Eanagh, "Country of the Lakes", making the whole derivation "Men (or Tribe) of the Country of the Lakes".[4] |
| Galway | 1565 | Connacht | Gaillimh | Named after the city ofGalway, which was named after the river Gaillimh (meaning "stoney"). The older name wasDún Bhun na Gaillimhe, "stronghold at the mouth of the Gaillimh". |
| Kerry | c. 1200 | Munster | Ciarraí | "People of Ciar". FromCiar ("black" or "dark brown"), a personal name, andRaighe ("people" or "tribe"). The Ciar after whom Ciarrai is named was Ciar mac Fergus, son ofFergus mac Róich, ex King of Ulster, andQueen Meabh of Connacht, both major characters of theUlster Cycle. |
| Kildare | 1297 | Leinster | Cill Dara | Named after the town ofKildare, which comes fromCill Dara, meaning "church of the oak". |
| Kilkenny | c. 1200 | Leinster | Cill Chainnigh | Named after the town ofKilkenny, which comes fromCill Chainnigh, meaning "church of Cainnech".Saint Cainnech allegedly converted the county to Christianity in 597. |
| Laois | 1556 | Leinster | Laois | Named after the Gaelic territory ofUí Laoighis, meaning "people of Lugaid Laígne". Lugaid was granted lands after driving out forces from Munster. His name derives fromLugh. Laois was originally called Queen's County, afterQueen Mary ("Bloody Mary") who created the county in 1556. After the creation of theIrish Free State, it was given its current name. |
| Leitrim | 1565–83 | Connacht | Liatroma | Named after the village ofLeitrim. The name 'Leitrim' itself is derived from the Irish Liath Druim, meaning 'grey ridge', and is a commonplace name throughout Ireland. |
| Limerick | c. 1200 | Munster | Luimneach | Named after the city ofLimerick, whose Irish name possibly means "bare spot". The Vikings called itHlymrekr, which might be a transliteration of the Irish or could mean "mighty noise" fromOld Norsehlym ("noise") andrekr ("mighty"). |
| Londonderry | 1613/1585 | Ulster | Doire | "Oak wood". FromDaire Coluimb Chille, "The Oak-wood of Saint Columba". Columba comes from the Latin for "Dove". PreviouslyDaire Calgaich, "The Oak-wood of Calgach". Calgach may have beenCalgacus. The name may come fromProto-Celtic*calg-ac-os, "Possessing a Blade" or "Possessing a Penis". The prefix "London" was added in 1613, after the town had been rebuilt across the river from its previous site, in recognition of donations from the livery companies of the City of London which had enabled the English and Scottish settlers to colonise the site. This was the same time as the County was formed. There issome dispute over whether to use the name Londonderry or Derry.Most of the area for County Londonderry came from the previousCounty Coleraine, which was formed in 1585. Coleraine comes fromCúil Raithin, "Nook of the Ferns". |
| Longford | 1586 | Leinster | An Longfort | Named after the town ofLongford, which comes fromAn Longfort, meaning "theport". The earlier spelling wasAn Longphoirt. The term was invented by Irish chroniclers to describe a Viking ship enclosure or fortress. Longford was split off from county Westmeath in 1586. |
| Louth | c. 1200 | Leinster | Lú | Named after the village ofLouth, which was named after the Irish godLugh (modern spellingLú). |
| Mayo | 1565 | Connacht | Maigh Eo | Named after the village ofMayo, which comes fromMaigh Eo, meaning "plain of theyew". |
| Meath | 1297 | Leinster | An Mhí | "The middle". Meath was once one of the five provinces of Ireland, and the one in which the High King sat. It was formed into a county in 1297, the boundaries of which were not strictly defined. At one point it encompassed all of counties Meath, Westmeath and Longford. It was formallydivided into Meath and Westmeath in 1542. |
| Monaghan | 1585 | Ulster | Muineachán | Named after the town ofMonaghan, which comes fromMuineachán. "Muine" means "brake" (a thickly overgrown area) or "hillock", hence the county council's interpretation as "land of the little hills". It could also derive from "Muine Acháin", "Acháin" meaning "field", and so making "bushy field" or "hilly field". |
| Offaly | 1556 | Leinster | Uíbh Fhailí | Named after the Gaelic territory ofUí Failghe, which existed from the 6th century until the death of its last king, Brian mac Cathaoir O Conchobhair Failghe, in 1556. After this, it was divided into Queen's County (modern day County Laois) and King's County (modern day County Offaly.) King's County was named afterQueen Mary's Consort,Philip. The name was restored to Offaly after the creation of theIrish Free State. |
| Roscommon | c. 1292 | Connacht | Ros Comáin | Named after the town ofRoscommon, which comes fromRos Comáin, meaning "Comán's wood". It was named afterSaint Coman, who founded the monastery of Roscommon around 550. |
| Sligo | 1565 | Connacht | Sligeach | Named after the town ofSligo, which comes fromSligeach, meaning "shelly place"; a reference to the large amounts of shellfish to be found in the river and its estuary. |
| Tipperary | 13th century | Munster | Tiobraid Árann | Named after the town ofTipperary, which comes fromTiobraid Árann, meaning "well of the Arra"; a reference to the river which flows through it. |
| Tyrone | 1585 | Ulster | Tír Eoghain | Named after the Gaelic territory ofTír Eoghain, meaning "Land of Eoghan". It was named after kingEógan mac Néill, a son of kingNiall of the Nine Hostages. Eógan founded the Kingdom ofAilech, which eventually became Tyrone. |
| Waterford | c. 1200 | Munster | Port Láirge | Named after the city ofWaterford, which comes fromOld NorseVeðrafjǫrðr ("ram fjord"). The Irish namePort Láirge means "Larag's port" and was historically anglicised asPortlarga. |
| Westmeath | 1542 | Leinster | An Iarmhí | Named after the old province of Meath.An Iarmhí also means "West Meath" or, fully translated, "West Middle". |
| Wexford | 1200 | Leinster | Loch Garman | Named after the town ofWexford, which comes fromOld NorseVeisafjǫrðr ("fjord of the mud flats"). The Irish nameLoch Garman means "Garman's lake/inlet" and is named after a legendary character called Garman Garbh, who was drowned in the mudflats at the mouth of the river Slaney by an enchantress, resulting in the lake that bears his name.Loch Garman was historically anglicised asLochgarman orLoughgarman. |
| Wicklow | 1607 | Leinster | Cill Mhantáin | Named after the town ofWicklow, which comes fromOld NorseVíkingalág orVikinga-ló ("meadow of the Vikings"). The Irish nameCill Mhantáin means "Church of Mantan" and is named after a contemporary of Saint Patrick who had his teeth knocked out by Irish pagans. Hence he was renamed Mantan, which means "toothless one" in Irish.Cill Mhantáin was historically anglicised asKilmantan. |