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While many Irish names are familiar, their past incarnations are often shrouded in mystery, reflecting the ancient Gaelic heritage of their bearers. The original Gaelic form of the name Moriarity is Ó Muircheartaigh, which is derived from the word "muircheartach," which means "navigator."
The surname Moriarity was first found in County Kerry (Irish:Ciarraí) part of the former County Desmond (14th-17th centuries), located in Southwestern Ireland, in Munster province.
"The name Moriarty is now largely represented in County Kerry, in which county the O'Moriartys were Chiefs in the Barony of Dunkerron." 1
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Moriarity research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1172 and 1714 are included under the topic Early Moriarity History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Within archives, many different spelling variations exist for the surname Moriarity. Ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in the name of the single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include Moriarty, O'Moriarty, Murtagh, Murtag, McMoriarty and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Moriarity Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Irish families began leaving their homeland for North America in the late 18th century. These families were usually modestly well off, but they were looking forward to owning and working on a sizable tract of land of their own. This pattern of emigration continued until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine sparked a major exodus of destitute and desperate Irish people. These people were not leaving for a grant of land in North America because by this time the East Coast had reached its saturation point and free land was scarce. They were merely looking to escape the disease, starvation, and hopelessness that Ireland had fallen into. Although these unfortunate immigrants did not receive a warm welcome by the established populations in the United States and what would become Canada, they were absolutely critical to the rapid development that these two nations enjoyed. They would help populate the western lands and provide the cheap labor required for a rapid industrialization. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many early bearers of the name Moriarity or one of its variants: