O'Cosgrove History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Etymology of O'Cosgrove

All Irish surnames have a unique and often romantic meaning. The name O'Cosgrove originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Coscraigh or Ó Coscraigh, from the word "coscrach," which means victorious. 1

Early Origins of the O'Cosgrove family

Early History of the O'Cosgrove family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Cosgrove research. Another 174 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1000, 1172, 1620 and 1641 are included under the topic Early O'Cosgrove History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Cosgrove Spelling Variations

The spelling of names in Ireland during the Middle Ages was rarely consistent. This inconsistency was due to the scribes and church officials' attempts to record orally defined names in writing. The common practice of recording names as they sounded resulted in spelling variations such as Cosgrove, Cosgrave, O'Cosgrove, O'Cosgrave, McCosgrove, McCosgrave and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Cosgrove family

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

Migration of the O'Cosgrove family

The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish migrating out of their homeland in a great measure due to the oppressive imperial policies of the English government and landowners. Many of these Irish families sailed to North America aboard overcrowded passenger ships. By far, the largest influx of Irish immigrants to North America occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. These particular immigrants were instrumental in creation of the United States and Canada as major industrial nations because the many essential elements such as the roadways, canals, bridges, and railways required an enormous quantity of cheap labor, which these poor immigrants provided. Later generations of Irish in these countries also went on to make valuable contributions in such fields as the arts, commerce, politics, and education. Extensive research into immigration and passenger lists has revealed many early immigrants bearing the name O'Cosgrove: Anne Cosgrave, aged 34; Anne aged 12; Anne aged 18; Bridget aged 22; Bridget 50; Catherine, Ellen, Francis, Hannah, James, John, Julia, Margaret, Mary, Michael, Owen, Pat, Peter, Thomas, William Cosgrave, who all arrived in Quebec in 1848.