Show ContentsTrahy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Ireland already had an established system of hereditary surnames when the Strongbownians arrived. Often the two traditions blended together quite well due to some of their basic similarities, but the incoming Anglo-Norman system brought in some forms that were uncommon amongst the Irish. One of these Anglo-Norman anomalies was the prevalence of local surnames, such as Trahy. Local names were taken from the names of a place or a geographical feature where the person lived, held land, or was born. Originally, the place names were prefixed by de, which means from in French. This type of prefix was eventually either made a part of the surname if the place name began with a vowel or was eliminated entirely. The local surnames of these Strongbownian invaders referred to places in Normandy, or more typically England, but eventually for those Anglo-Normans that remained in Ireland, the nicknames referred to places or geographical features of the island: they became true local names. The Trahy family appears to have originally lived in the town of Troyes in France; the original form of the surname Trahy was de Troyes. The surname Trahy belongs to the large category of Anglo-Norman habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Trahy family

The surname Trahy was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they were granted lands by Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, after his conquest of Ireland in 1172. They were recruited from the family of Try in Gloucester where they were Lords of the manor of Alkington. The family is said to be amongst the highest orders of French nobility.

Early History of the Trahy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Trahy research. Another 135 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1660, 1690, 1698, 1702, 1705, 1717, 1739 and 1823 are included under the topic Early Trahy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Trahy Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, a single person often had their name recorded by church officials and scribes many different ways. Names were typically spelt as they sounded, which resulted in many different spelling variations. The many versions of the name Trahy to have been recorded over the years include: Troye, Troy, Try, Trye, Trohy, Trohey, Troys, Troyes, O'Trahy, O'Trahey, O'Trehy, O'Trehey and many more.

Early Notables of the Trahy family

Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Trahy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Trahy family

Ireland's Great Potato Famine left the country's inhabitants in extreme poverty and starvation. Many families left their homeland for North America for the promise of work, freedom and land ownership. Although the Irish were not free of economic and racial discrimination in North America, they did contribute greatly to the rapid development of bridges, canals, roads, and railways. Eventually, they would be accepted in other areas such as commerce, education, and the arts. An examination of immigration and passenger lists revealed many bearing the name Trahy: Daniel, Edward, James, Jeremiah, John, Michael, Patrick and William Troy all arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1770 and 1870; John Trye from England arrived in Virginia in 1624. In Newfoundland, James Troy from Tipperary settled in St. John's in 1813.



Houseofnames.com on Facebook