Ryly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The Ryly surname originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Raghailligh, which means descendant of Raghallach.

Early Origins of the Ryly family

The surname Ryly was first found in County Cavan. They were known as the Princes of East Breffny, descended from Raghallaigh, Prince of Breffny in 981. They maintained their territory during the Anglo/Norman invasion of Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, in 1172, but Sir John O'Reilly, Prince of Breffny surrendered the principality to Queen Elizabeth I thereby ensuring that his territories remained intact.

Early History of the Ryly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ryly research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1598, 1630, 1640, 1646, 1667, 1669, 1689, 1691, 1695 and 1703 are included under the topic Early Ryly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ryly Spelling Variations

Names from the Middle Ages demonstrate many spelling variations. This is because the recording scribe or church official often decided as to how a person's name was spelt and in what language. Research into the name Ryly revealed many variations, including O'Reilly, O'Reilley, O'Reily, O'Rielly, O'Riely, O'Riley, O'Rilley, Reel and many more.

Early Notables of the Ryly family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Count John O'Reilly; Edmund O'Reilly (1598-1669), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh; Hugh Reily (Reilly or O’Reilly) (c.1630-1695) Irish Member of Parliament for Cavan Borough in the Patriot Parliament of 1689; Philip Og O’Reilly (Gaelic was Phillip Óg O’Raghallaigh)(c.1640-1703), Irish...
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ryly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ryly migration to the United States +

Thousands of Irish families left for North American shores in the 19th century. These people were searching for a life unencumbered with poverty, hunger, and racial discrimination. Many arrived to eventually find such conditions, but many others simply did not arrive: victims of the diseased, overcrowded ships in which they traveled to the New World. Those who lived to see North American shores were instrumental in the development of the growing nations of Canada and the United States. A thorough examination of passenger and immigration lists has disclosed evidence of many early immigrants of the name Ryly:

Ryly Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Dan Ryly, who arrived in Virginia in 1657 1
Thomas Ryly, who landed in Maryland in 1664 1

Ryly Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Edward Ryly, who landed in Virginia in 1702 1
Mical Ryly, who arrived in Virginia in 1736 1

Citations +

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)