The origin of the name Curragh is uncertain. It may be a toponymic name derived from one of the places in
Ireland called Curragh, the most famous of which is the Curragh of
Kildare. The Gaelic word "curach" meaning "champion" or "hero" could also have been the origin of the name. Finally, in some cases, the name is of Scottish origin and is the Irish form of MacCurrach, a sept of the MacPherson clan.
Early Origins of the Curragh family
The surname Curragh was first found in the southern part of
County Down, and the northern part of Louth, where Thomas Curragh, a farmer of Kilpatrick, was recorded in 1428 in a case in Archbishop Swayne's register. In the following century the name was found in and near
Dublin. Richard Curragh was a farmer of Raheny in 1561, and another Richard Curragh was a member of the Merchant Tailor's Guild, and was made a freeman of
Dublin city in 1589. The Curragh of
Kildare is an expanse of plains land, famed for horse riding and races, that has been used for military purposes since antiquity.
Curragh Spelling Variations
Early Notables of the Curragh family (pre 1700)
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Migration of the Curragh family to the New World and Oceana
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Curragh Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Henry Curragh, who was naturalized in Ohio in 1855
- Fanny Curragh, who landed in New York in 1882