Parent’s name
O'Connell surname meaning
An Irish surname from Gaelic Ó Conaill, “descendant of Conall,” a personal name from elements for “hound/wolf” and “valour.”
The short story
O’Connell is the familiar English spelling of Irish Ó Conaill, “descendant of Conall.” Conall is an old Gaelic personal name built from elements usually read as “hound” or “wolf” (from cú) and “valour.” The Ó prefix marks male-line descent, so the surname is a classic patronymic. US Census records often strip the apostrophe to OCONNELL. It is not the same name as O’Donnell (Ó Domhnaill), which already appears earlier in this catalog under slug odonnell. Connell is a shortened form. Parent’s name is high confidence for the Conall descent meaning.
Also seen as: O'Connell, Oconnell, Connell, O'Connel
Sources used
- Ancestry / DAFN-style and Wikipedia synthesis for O'Connell (Ó Conaill; Conall ‘hound/wolf’ + valour)
- Library Ireland / Irish surname references for Ó Conaill
- Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)