Hi Jim and Anne Marie
I have three different books on
Irish surnames and neither one mentions that the name
Cahill is derived from the Spanish.The first book is called "The Dictionary of
Irish Family Names by Ida
Grehan". Here is what is states for the surname
Cahill.
CAHILL
Cathail
Cathail is the
Irish version of the name Charles,meaning valour. From this first name derives
Cahill,one of the earliest family names. The O prefix is no longer used by the Cahills. At first they were an important sept in Connacht,where they must have had strong connections with the sea,as their armorial shield features a whale spouting a fountain of water on a blue sea,while their crest is an anchor with an entwined cable.
By the fourteenth century there were several
Cahill septs,most of them in
Munster,where today they are still most numerous. They have left their name on five different country towns: there are three Ballycahills in County Tipperary,one in County
Galway and another in County
Clare.
The Cahills were prominent in the Church and,during the eighteenth century,in the armies in Eurpoe,where they served in France with the
Irish Regiment of
Walsh. In the First World War,three brothers,all from a County
Kilkenny family,were killed in action in France."
From the second book called "Celtic Book of Names by D.J. Conway" the following is written.
"Cahill
One of the earliest recorded
Irish surnames,it was originally Cathail,which is derived from the
Irish word for Charles and means "manly" or valor." A southern
Galway family was the first to bear this name,but soon there were branches in other areas with slightly changed surnames. For example,there are families with the surname Ballycahill in both County Tipperary and County
Clare. During World War 1, three sons of the Ballyragget family of County
Kilkenny died in France."
The third book called "
Collins Pocket Reference
Irish Family Names by John
Grenham."
The following is what is written in that book.
Cahill
The original
Irish from which the name derives is O Cathail,from the common personal name Cathal,sometimes anglicised as Charles,which may in turn derive from the Old
Irish catu-ualos,meaning 'strong in battle'.
Families of the name arose separately in different parts of Ireland,in
Kerry,
Galway,Tipperary and
Clare. Originally the
Galway family,located in the old diocese of Kilmacduagh near the
Clare border,were most prominent,but their position was usurped by the O'Shaughnessys,and theydeclined. The southern families flourished,and the name is now most common in counties
Cork,
Kerry and Tipperary,while it is relatively infrequent in its other original homes. The arms illustrated are those of the
Munster Cahills.(Which is HERALDIC BLAZON. Argent a whale spouting in the sea proper.)
The geographical spread of families of the name is reflected in the forty-five placenames which incorporate
Cahill. These placenames appear in
Clare(four),Tipperary (six,including three Ballycahills),
Galway(eight),
Cork (two) and
Kilkenny (one).
Demographic
Data Traditional Family Areas:Clare,
Cork,
Kerry,Tipperary.
Family Ranking:1890--134th, 1996--142nd
No. of Births
1890--147
Famous Names:
Flann O'Cahill died 938
A very early bearer of the name,whom the
Annals record as having been martyred in 938.
Father Daniel
Cahill (1796-1864)
Father Daniel
Cahill was well known in his day as a teacher,journalist and lecturer."
In another book that I have called "Dictionary of Newfoundland and
Labrador Biography" there are two Cahill's mentioned.The first is Frank M. Cahill born Sept 9,1914 in St.John's.Inducted Newfoundland
Sports Hall of Fame 1978.
The second one is Thomas
Cahill born Oct 9,1929 in St. John's.Author of Tomorrow Will Be Sunday."
I also have
Cahill in my family tree on my mother's side.I have only been able to trace them back to (
Salmon Cove now Avondale),Newfoundland.
I hope this is of help to you. Take care and Happy New Year.
Tish