Show ContentsKerrivan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Today's Irish surnames are underpinned by a multitude of rich histories. The name Kerrivan originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Gairbhin, derived from the word "garbh," which means "rough." [1]

Early Origins of the Kerrivan family

The surname Kerrivan was first found in County Tyrone (Irish: Tír Eoghain), the ancient territory of the O'Neills, now in the Province of Ulster, central Northern Ireland, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the Kerrivan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kerrivan research. Another 135 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1000, 1527, 1558, 1560 and 1595 are included under the topic Early Kerrivan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kerrivan Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Garvin, Garvey, Garwin, Garvine, Garven, Garvan, Garvy, Garvie, Garwen and many more.

Early Notables of the Kerrivan family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was John Garvey (1527-1595), an Irish Protestant bishop of Kilmore and Archbishop of Armagh. He was the eldest son of John O'Garvey of Morisk, co. Mayo and was born in the county of Kilkenny. "He was educated at Oxford, where he graduated in the reign of Edward VI; but through some negligence his name does not appear in the public...
Another 68 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kerrivan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kerrivan family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: James Garvey who settled in Virginia in 1680; Daniel Garvin, an 'enforced' Irish emigrant, sent to America in 1742; Patrick Garve, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1773.



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


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