Parent’s name
Dougherty surname meaning
An Irish and Manx surname, a variant of Doherty from Gaelic Ó Dochartaigh, “descendant of Dochartach” (a byname “hard-hearted”).
The short story
Dougherty is an Irish and Manx surname, a spelling variant of Doherty. Doherty is a shortened Anglicization of Gaelic Ó Dochartaigh, “descendant of Dochartach,” a byname from docarthach, “hard-hearted” (apparently “not loving”). Doherty is the usual Anglo-Irish spelling; Dougherty and Daugherty are common American forms, while Scottish Docherty and Manx Daugherty are closely related. Parent’s name is high confidence for the Ó Dochartaigh patronymic that DAFN assigns to both Doherty and Dougherty; the different English spellings do not change the Gaelic meaning.
Also seen as: Dougherty, Doherty, Docherty, Daugherty
Sources used
- Ancestry / DAFN entry for Dougherty (variant of Doherty)
- Ancestry / DAFN entry for Doherty (Ó Dochartaigh; Dochartach ‘hard-hearted’)
- Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)