Fisher

An Irish surname of Antrim and Wicklow. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 214,703 people, the 112th most common surname in the country.

Fisher is the anglicised form of two distinct Irish names. Some you can hear in the English name; others look and sound nothing like it, and were simply swapped for it.

Mac An Iascaire

Ó Bradáin, descendant of Bradán (diminutive of brádach , spirited; also a salmon). This family stood in Co. Roscommon.

Where the name comes from

Fisher is often a fish rather than a fisherman. Ó Bradáin is descendant of Bradán, which is both spirited and a salmon, and the name was translated Salmon as far back as 1555. Salmon, of course, suggested Fisher, and so a Bradan became a Fisher in two hops.

Mac an Iascaire is the literal one, son of the fisherman, from iascaire: a late importation from Scotland, if not a translation of the English surname Fisher.

The Giant's Causeway at twilight with wet hexagonal basalt columns stretching to the sea and long exposure blurred waves
The Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim

The Fisher counties, photographed

Antrim

The Antrim coast road runs about 25 miles between the cliffs and the sea, with nine glens coming down to it. The rock is basalt, the same flow that formed the Giant's Causeway. Scotland is 12 miles off at the narrowest point and visible on a clear day.

The iconic Dark Hedges beech tree tunnel near Armoy in County Antrim with intertwined branches forming a brooding canopyThe Dark Hedges, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Long exposure of Pan's Rock with its footbridge at dawn on the Antrim Causeway Coast, silky water and blurred clouds, Rathlin Island on the horizonPan's Rock, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Sunrise over Colliery Bay with Fair Head cliffs and mountains, Co. Antrim, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxColliery Bay & Fair Head, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Dunluce Castle on coastal cliffs with long exposure sea, Co. Antrim, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxDunluce Castle, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Black and white photograph of a rainstorm sweeping across the Skerries islands off the North Antrim coast near PortrushRainstorm, the Skerries, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Sunset over Bengore Head with waves rolling over rocks, Co. Antrim, Ireland — fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxBengore Head, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Sunset over the Skerries coast in County Antrim with warm light reflecting on wet sand and rock formationsThe Skerries, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim

Wicklow

The Wicklow Mountains are granite and start about 20 km from the centre of Dublin. Glendalough is a glacial valley with two lakes and a monastic site founded in the sixth century, including a round tower. Brittas Bay is about five kilometres of sand.

Forest trail through woodland at Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxForest Trail, Glendalough, Co. Wicklow Co. Wicklow Quiet cove at Brittas Bay with Mizen Head in the distance, Co. Wicklow, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxBrittas Bay & Mizen Head, Co. Wicklow Co. Wicklow Dawn light illuminating the crags of Luggala above Lough Tay, Co. Wicklow, Ireland, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxDawn, Lough Tay, Co. Wicklow Co. Wicklow Purple heather blooming across the rolling Wicklow Mountains in AugustWicklow Mountains Co. Wicklow

All Antrim prints · All Wicklow prints

Notable bearers

Carrie Fisher (1956-2016), actor, writer, and singer.

Ronald Fisher (1890-1962), mathematician, astronomer, and geneticist.

Isla Fisher (born 1976), actor, writer, and model.

Andrew Fisher (1862-1928), politician, diplomat, and trade unionist.

Irving Fisher (1867-1947), economist, inventor, and statistician.

About this page

The counties on this page are where the name was thickest on the ground in Ireland a century and a half ago, not a claim about any one family. Names moved around inside the country as much as they left it. The photographs are mine, made in the counties named.

More Irish surnames: Smith · Brown · Miller · Wilson · Anderson · Thomas · Taylor · Moore · Jackson · Martin · Lee · Thompson

How common the name was

In 1890, 29 births were registered under Fisher in Ireland, most of them in Antrim and Wicklow.

Ulster 16
Leinster 9
Munster 4
Connacht 0
Ireland 29