Show ContentsHaily History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

While many Irish names are quite familiar to us, their original Gaelic forms are often forgotten and mysterious. The original Gaelic form of the name Haily is Ó hEalaighthe, which is derived from the word "ealadhach," which means "ingenious." Another Gaelic form of the surname is Ó hEilidhe, which is derived from the word "eilidhe," which means "claimant." 1

Early Origins of the Haily family

The surname Haily was first found in County Sligo (Irish: Sligeach), in the province of Connacht in Northwestern Ireland, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Haily family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Haily research. Another 161 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1309, 1579, 1656, 1690, 1695, 1701, 1724, 1741, 1794 and 1800 are included under the topic Early Haily History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Haily Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, a person's name was often recorded under several spelling variations during a single lifetime because it was essentially up to the individual scribe's discretion as to how to record an individual's name. Research into the name Haily revealed many variations, including Haly, Haley, Haily, Hely, Healy, Healey, O'Healey, O'Haly and many more.

Early Notables of the Haily family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Edmond (Edmund) Halley, FRS (1656-1741), an English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist who is best known for computing the orbit of the eponymous Halley's Comet. He was born in Haggerston, in east London, but his family came from Derbyshire.Patrick O'Healy, was a Franciscan Bishop of Mayo...
Another 56 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Haily Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Haily migration to the United States +

Often leaving from racial discrimination and colonial oppression, thousands of families left Ireland in the 19th century for North America aboard passenger ships. Many early immigrants found a plot of land to call their own, something unimaginable for most Irish families. Those that arrived later were often accommodated as laborers since there was a large demand for cheap labor. This was the fate for many of the families that arrived in North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Whether they became agrarian settlers or industrial workers, the Irish that came to North America were invaluable for rapid development of the infant nations of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Haily or a variant listed above:

Haily Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Haily, aged 39, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1856 2

Canada Haily migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Haily Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Patrick Haily, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1824


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
  2. 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)


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