What Is In A Name?

“What is in a name? That which we call a rose: by any other name would smell so sweet”.
William Shakespeare

William, John, Mary and Ann, if you are a descendant of a Gallagher, chances are your name is one of the four and if it is not your first name chances are it is your middle name. Maybe your name is Marie or Anna. If you are a Gallagher descendant, it is considered just another form of Mary and Ann. Were you born a William? Then you are probably nicknamed Will, Bill or Billy. If your father was named William, chances are your first born son is also a William. Is your name John? Then you were named after many ancestors most probably your grandfather on both sides of the family or a favorite Uncle.

Names are given to us at birth or baptism. Surnames are the family name we carry throughout our lives and pass on to future generations. Do you know that the way you spell your surname today was probably not how it was spelled one hundred years ago? Surnames change for many different reasons but the most common reason a surname may change is because of language. Did you know the name Voigt is also spelled Voight and Voyt? I believe the correct spelling of our family form of this name is Voigt. My information comes directly from the Voigt headstones at Bethanien Lutheran Church Yard in Roxborough. These are the oldest ancestor graves to date. If you travel over to Westminster cemetery, you will discover another group of Voigt graves. Have you ever looked up the history of our cousin H.C. Voigt who fought at the Battle of Little Big Horn? If you did, it was spelled as Voyt on the list of soldiers wounded and killed at that battle. But, if you read the story of H.C. Voigt, you will notice that it was spelled Voigt. Do you know what H.C. stands for? It stands for Henry Charles, however, Henry Charles was not known as Henry but as simply Charles. John Keller was known as Jak. His wife Elisabeth spelled her name with an “s” instead of a “z”. Their daughter was given the name Maria Elisabeth at birth but was known as Mary her entire life. When Mary Keller married William Joseph Gallagher, they had two children William and Anna. They nicknamed William “Will” though through his life he was also called Bill. Anna Marie Gallagher married Collum McCaffery a man known as “Coll”. However, if you research his name in the Censes, you will also find it spelled Colum or Collin. His father was named Collum Owen but was known as Owen. When Anna Marie Gallagher married
Collum McCaffery she changed her name to Anna Marie McCaffery. When her brother William married Collum’s cousin Anna Marie McCaffery, then Anna Marie McCaffery became Anna Marie Gallagher. These two Anna’s actually switched last names.

What is in a name? Let me tell you. Sometimes the name you were given at birth may not be the name you were known as your entire life. Many of us grew up with a favorite nickname given to us by a friend or relative. My Uncle Gene used to call me “Patty Cake”, a nicknamed I carried into adulthood. Uncle Gene was not born with the name Gene; he was given the name Collum Eugene. He has two brothers, William Joseph and John Patrick. His brother William was called Billy while his brother John was called Jack. Some relatives were given nicknames that were not even close to their original birth names. My brother Michael was called “Ski”. Charles Schroeder was called “Dick”. His brother Elmer was called “Steve” whereas his brother Raymond was called “Mooney”. His sister Florence was known as “Hon” and Lillian was known as “Penny”.

Then you have surnames being changed all together like in the instance when my paternal grandfather John Wisloski decided to change his last name to Weleski.

What is the history behind our surnames? Did you know that at one time the surname Gallagher was spelled 30 different ways? Today, Gallagher is the most common name in Donegal, Ireland and the 14th most common name in all of Ireland. Gallagher is typically spelled as Gallegher, Gallaher, Galliger and Galligher. Did you know that the name Gallagher means “Foreign Helper or Assistant”? The story begins with a Gallagher in 1521 who willingly agrees to help the O’Donnell’s fight against the English. He fights to his death. (The World Book of Gallagher’s)

O’GALLCHOBHAIR

“Powerful sept allied to the O’Donnell’s and based in Ballybeit and Ballyneglock”

Other Irish surnames in our family are;
Boland, Bolan or O’Beollain is the “name of two Irish septs, one in Sligo and one in Clare”. Bolands from the Clare sept are direct descendants from the brother of the once High King of Ireland

Doherty, Docherty, Dougherty or O’Dogherty which means “unlucky” or “hurtful”. This surname is another popular name in Donegal as well as Derry.

McCaffery, Caffery, Caffray, Caffrey, Caffry, McCaffrey, MacCaffery or MacGafraigh is a “sept related to Maguire of Fermanagh”. This name is common in Dublin and the Midlands.


Cannon, MacCaunneen, O’Cunneen, Cuneen, Queenan, Queenane, Cunneany, Cunnien, Cunneen, Cunnion, Kinnen, Robbett, Rabbit, Kenyon, Kinnane or MacCoinin is “that of a literary family of Earris, County Mayo. It is Anglicized Kenning and Kenyon as well as Cunneen and is also translated as Rabbit”. (Bill Cannon)

When a surname begins with the letter “O” it states the surname was a descendant of. When a surname begins with the letters Mc, M or Mac the person is a son of. Many of the Irish dropped these letters in front of their name to avoid persecution. (The World Book of Gallagher’s)

Even the country from which the Irish emigrated from has a meaning to its name. Ireland means Erie in Gaelic and Erin in English. It is also referred to as the “Emerald Isle” because of the beauty of its countryside.

The term we use when researching a surname is Onomastics which is defined as the study of the surname or last name and where it came from and what the name means.

What is your given name or first name? Is it Celtic or Teutonic? Maybe it’s from the
Hebrew language? Given names or as we call them first names originated from five
Languages: Hebrew, Teutonic, Greek, Latin and Celtic. (The World Book of Gallagher’s)

The most popular first names used in English speaking countries are Elizabeth, Mary, John and Joseph. How many family members do we have with those names? Are your relatives from Donegal? If so they may have one of Donegal’s most popular first names such as Eugene, Kathleen, Mary, Charles, Francis, Patrick, Hannah, Daniel, Sean, Joseph, William, John or Brigrid. If you have relatives from County Mayo, you might expect them to have the following names such as Daniel, Bridget, Ellen, John, Catherine, Mary, Ann, Francis or Patrick

If you do not have one of the popular Donegal or County Mayo first names, your name still has a meaning and some parents name their children a particular name because of what it stands for such as Matthew “gift of God” or Michael “God like”. Paul stands for “Little” or Henry “Ruler of the home”. My name Patricia means “Of noble birth”.

In additional to our Irish surnames, we also have German surnames that originated from the occupation or birth place. You may be called Frank of East Falls or simply Frank Maier. If you were of the nobility then you would have a middle name. You would be called Frank William Maier.

The Polish surnames have distinct endings. The “ski” or “orock” that comes at the end of a Polish surname is originally from the nobility to distinguish themselves from the common folk. But, it is of interest that Polish surnames all have German beginnings. (The World Book of Gallagher’s)

William, John, Mary or Ann are common Ancestral Gallagher names in our family that were started by our Gallagher descendants Patrick and Hannah and the tale goes like this.
Patrick and Hannah had a daughter named Mary and a son named William, William married a girl named Mary who was born Maria and she had a father and brother named John. Their children are called William and Anna Marie. William whose sister is called Anna Marie who had a daughter named Mary married a girl also called Anna Marie who had a father and uncle named John then they had their own William, John, Mary and Ann Marie. William had his own son William and a daughter named Katherine Mary who one day had her own daughter Mary Kate. John had a son John and another whom he called Paul William. However, his other son Eric when he had his own son called him William. Mary had a son Francis William who had his own Francis William and another one called John. Her daughter Patricia Marie named one of her own sons Joseph William, Mary also had a daughter Mary Ann who one day had a daughter Christine Mary. The youngest daughter of William and Anna Marie who was called Ann Marie had a daughter whom she called Angelina Marie.
Nine Williams, seven Johns, twelve forms of Mary and five forms of Ann born over six generations. What are the newest Gallagher members being named today? The new trend seems to give last names as first names to their children such as Kendal, Finnegan and Reilly.