Driskill History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Before Irish names were translated into English, Driskill had a Gaelic form of Ó hEidersceoil, from the word eidirsceol, which means an intermediary. 1

Early Origins of the Driskill family

The surname Driskill was first found in the southern part of the county of Kerry. They were later forced out of this territory by the O'Sullivans, and migrated eastward, settling around Baltimore in the southwest of County Cork. They remain almost exclusively in this region today, despite the depredations of the neighboring O'Donovan and O'Mahony septs. 2

"The original habitat of the O'Driscolls was the Barony of West Carbery, in County Cork, where O'Driscoll was Lord of Baltimore, and possessed the Island of Cape Clear and adjacent territory. The great majority of the present Driscolls are to be found there." 3

The sept takes its name from Eidersceoil, who was born around 910 AD, and was in turn descended from Lughaide Laidhe, who was the ancestor of the Corca Laoidheclann which occupied the area of Cork belonging to the diocese of Ross. The variant Dirsicall was ten times more common than O'Driscoll eighty years ago, the situation has now been reversed.

Early History of the Driskill family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Driskill research. Another 216 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1460, 1698 and 1707 are included under the topic Early Driskill History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Driskill Spelling Variations

Within archives, many different spelling variations exist for the surname Driskill. 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 Driscoll, O'Driscoll and others.

Early Notables of the Driskill family

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

Driskill Ranking

In the United States, the name Driskill is the 10,096^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Driskill migration to the United States +

The 18th and 19th centuries saw many Irish families immigrate to North America in search of land and opportunities. The largest influx of Irish immigrants to the United States and British North America came during the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine laid waste to their homeland. Hundreds of thousands left the island in an attempt to escape the starvation and disease it brought. Although the arrival of such a large number of destitute Irish was not welcomed by the established population in the United States and what would become known as Canada at the time, these Irish were an essential element to the rapid development of these growing industrial nations. They filled the demand for the cheap labor needed for the work in factories and in the construction of bridges, roads, canals, and railways. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many immigrants bearing the name of Driskill or one of its variants:

Driskill Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Daniel Driskill, who landed in New England in 1714 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Driskill (post 1700) +

James Christopher Driskill (b. 1817), American landowner, eponym of Driskill Mountain, the highest natural summit in Louisiana
Col. Jesse Driskill, American cattleman who spent his fortune constructing "the finest hotel south of St. Louis" located in Austin, Texas in 1886
Ogden Driskill, American politician, Member of the Wyoming Senate from the 1st district (2011-)
Jeff Driskill, American second head football coach for the Lindenwood University Lions (1992-1994)
Walter Scott Driskill (1913-1998), American professional football coach for the Baltimore Colts in 1949
Travis Corey Driskill (b. 1971), retired American Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played from 2002 to 2007
Clive Driskill -Smith (b. 1978), English organist and the Sub-Organist at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Jeff Driskill (b. 1975), Canadian professional hockey player

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
Matheson, Robert E., Special Report on Surnames in Ireland with Notes as to Numeric Strength, Derivation, Ethnology, and Distribution. Dublin: Alexander Thom & Co., 1894. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)