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Origins Available: |
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The name Cowhy originally descend from Cobthach Fionn, a quo Ó Cobhthaigh, where "cobthach" means "victorious" and "fionn" means "fair," combined to mean "the fairhaired victor." 1
The surname Cowhy was first found in County Cork, Roscommon and Meath, where the claim descent from the Irish monarch, Luy Mac Con, from the line of Ithe Kings, ancestor of Cobthach Fion, who in turn was the ancestor of the name Coffey or Caughey (both pronounced the same way). The O'Coffeys of Corcaloidhe are kin of the O'Driscolls, and are still common in southwest County Cork today.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cowhy research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1580, 1700, 1729, 1745, 1857 and 1916 are included under the topic Early Cowhy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Many different spelling variations of the surname Cowhy were found in the archives researched. These included Scribes and church officials generally spelled a name as it sounded; as a result, a person's name could be spelt innumerable ways in his lifetime. Coffey, Caughey, Coffie, Coughey, Cauffey, Cauffy, Cauffie, Coffy, Coughay, Coffay, Coffeye and many more.
Notable among the family name at this time was Dermot O'Coffey (fl. 1580), the Gaelic poet.
Charles Coffey of Leinster (1700-1745), was an Irish dramatist, actor and composer, a 'native of Ireland,' is first heard of in Dublin. In Dublin...
Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cowhy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
North America received thousands of Irish immigrants from the English-ruled Ireland during the 19th century. Once in the United States or what would become Canada, these immigrants quickly contributed to the ongoing settling and industrialization processes. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. An exhaustive examination of immigrant and passenger lists has shown many early immigrants bearing the surname of Cowhy: Barney, James, John, Michael and Patrick Coffey who all settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1854 and 1868; Michael Coffey settled in Quebec in 1848.