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Many of the oldest Irish surnames were originally in the Gaelic language native to Ireland. The original Gaelic form of the name Murfree is Ó Murchadha or Mac Murchadha, which are both derived from the word "murchadh," meaning "sea warrior."
The surname Murfree was first found in County Wexford (Irish: Loch Garman), founded by Vikings as Waesfjord, and located in Southeastern Ireland, in the province of Leinster, where they held a family seat from very early times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Murfree research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1127, 1172, 1650, 1716 and 1798 are included under the topic Early Murfree History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Many spelling variations of the surname Murfree can be found in the archives. One reason for these variations is that ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. The different spellings that were found include Murphy, Morchoe, O'Murphy, Murfie, Murfree, Morfie, Morfey and many more.
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Murfree Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Irish families left their homeland in astonishing numbers during the 19th century in search of a better life. Although individual reasons vary, most of these Irish families suffered from extreme poverty, lack of work opportunities, and exorbitant rents in their homeland. Many decided to travel to Australia or North America in the hopes of finding greater opportunities and land. The Irish immigrants that came to North America initially settled on the East Coast, often in major centers such as Boston or New York. But like the many other cultures to settle in North America, the Irish traveled to almost any region they felt held greater promise; as a result, many Irish with gold fever moved all the way out to the Pacific coast. Others before that time left for land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula, or the Maritimes as United Empire Loyalists, for many Irish did choose to side with the English during the American War of Independence. The earliest wave of Irish migration, however, occurred during the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s. An examination of early immigration and passenger lists has revealed many people bearing the Murfree name: