All Irish surnames have underlying meanings that can be traced back to their fullest points when the names first appeared in a Gaelic form. The name Gath originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Graith or Mag Raith; these are both derived from the personal name Craith.
The surname Gath was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gath research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1600, 1650, 1523, 1622, 1389, 1400, 1400, 1421, 1423, 1433, 1460, 1463, 1523, 1622, 1523 and 1622 are included under the topic Early Gath History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The general population of Ireland, like those of Europe and Britain during the Middle Ages, scribes recorded people's names as they saw fit. As a result, surnames often had many spelling variations. For Gath some of these variations included: MacGrath, MacGraw, MacGrauth, Magrath, Magraw and many more.
Notable among the family name at this time was Miler MacGrath (1523-1622), Archbishop of Cashel. Seán mac Ruaidhri Mac Craith (fl. 14th-century), later known as John Macrory Magrath, was an Irish historian known as the author of Caithréim Thoirdhealbhaigh.
Mathghamhain Mág Raith, was Bishop of Killaloe, (1389-1400) and Donatus Mág Raith, O.S.A., was Bishop of Killaloe (1400-1421.) Continuing this line was Thaddaeus Mág Raith I, Bishop of Killaloe (1423-1433) and Thaddaeus Mág Raith II, Bishop of Killaloe, (1460-1463.) Miler Magrath (1523?-1622)...
Another 80 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gath Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Gath or one of its variants: