Cahil Surname History

Origins Available:
Ireland

The original Gaelic form of Cahil was Mac Cathail or Ó Cathail, while is derived from the personal name Cathal, which is generally Anglicized as Charles. Cahil is derived from the Old Irish "catu-ualos" which means "valor or powerful in battle". 1

Early Origins of the Cahil family

The surname Cahil was first found in County Kerry and Tipperary as there are at least two distinct septs of the name. The first sept from County Kerry descend from the Heremon line of kings and were known as the Cahills of Connaught. The second sept claim descent from the Ir line of kings and were located at Corkashinny, or the parish of Templemore, Tipperary. This line further branched to the eponymous Ballycahill, Tipperary. Both branches descended from O'Connors, the Kings of Connacht, specifically "Cathal," also known as Conor na Luinge Luaithe, when anglicized means "Conor, the Swifter-Sailing Ship" 2 which may elude to the seafaring coat of arms used by the family.

Early History of the Cahil family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cahil research. Another 138 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1654, 1796 and 1864 are included under the topic Early Cahil History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cahil Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, a standardized literary language known by the general population of Ireland was a thing of fiction. When a person's name was recorded by one of the few literate scribes, it was up that particular scribe to decide how to spell an individual's name. So a person could have several spelling variations of his name recorded during a single lifetime. Research into the name Cahil revealed many variations, including Cahill, O'Cahill, Kahill, Cawhill, Cahille, Cahil, Cahaly, Cahell, Cahel, Caughell, Kahil, Kahel, Caill, Cail and many more.

Early Notables of the Cahil family

Notable among the family name at this time was

Flan O'Cahill, martyred in 938
Daniel O'Cahill, brother of Bogh O'Cahill, chief of the Clan, forfeited under the Cromwellian settlement, his castle and the lands of Ballycahill having to move to Ballyglass, County Mayo in 1654

Cahil migration to the United States +

The 18th century saw the slow yet steady emigration of Irish families to British North America and the United States. Those early Irish settlers that left their homeland were typically moderately well off: they were enticed by the promise of a sizable plot of land. However, by the 1840s, this pattern of immigration was gone: immigrants to North America were seeking refuge from the starvation and disease that the Great Potato Famine of that decade brought. The great numbers of Irish that arrived to the United States and the soon to be Canada were instrumental in their quick development as powerful industrial nations. An examination of early immigration and passenger lists uncovered many early immigrants bearing the name Cahil:

Cahil Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Patrick Cahil, aged 22, who arrived in Missouri in 1839 3
Laurence Cahil, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1861 3

Cahil migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cahil Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Elizabeth Cahil of Caplin Cove was married in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1815 4

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0