Airlie Surname History

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Airlie

What does the name Airlie mean?

During the 17th and 18th centuries, many Irish Gaelic names were forcibly translated in English. The Irish O'Maolmocheirghe, often anglicized as O'Mulmohery and Mulmoher, began to be substituted with Early and Earley, a loose translation of the elements "moch" meaning early and "eirghe" meaning rising.

Early Origins of the Airlie family

The surname Airlie was first found in the 12th and 13th centuries, when a bishop of Breffny near Kilmore in Galway and an abbot of Kells in County Meath were both called O'Mulmoghery. In Counties Kilkenny and Tipperary the name Erley is of Norman descent, and is sometimes found as d'Erley. Robert Erley was the Prior of Kells in County Kilkenny in 1361, and Erleystown was on record in Tipperary as early as 1305.

Early History of the Airlie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Airlie research. Another 118 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1659, 1814 and 1874 are included under the topic Early Airlie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Airlie Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Early, Earley, O'Mulmohery, Mulmoher and many more.

Early Notables of the Airlie family

More information is included under the topic Early Airlie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Airlie family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Donald Early, who landed in Quebec in 1825; Catherine Early, who arrived in Baltimore in 1829; Pat Early, who immigrated to St. John, New Brunswick in 1833.

Contemporary Notables of the name Airlie (post 1700) +

Seton Montgomery "Jock" Airlie (1920-2008), Scottish footballer who played as a centre forward
Jimmy Airlie (1936-1997), Scottish trade unionist
Ella Airlie (1882-1959), also known as Ella Palzier Campbell, an Australian dramatist and performer who co-wrote the successful Australian musical, The Bunyip
Catherine Airlie, pseudonym of the British novelist Jean S. MacLeod
Andrew Airlie (b. 1961), Scottish-born, Canadian actor, known for his work on Monk, Smallville, Stargate SG-1, The X-Files and Fringe