Greene

An Irish surname of Antrim, Clare, Dublin, Galway, and Tipperary. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 126,101 people, the 241st most common surname in the country.

Greene 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.

de Graoin. This family stood in Co. Dublin, Co. Limerick, and Co. Waterford.

Ó Huaithnín, descendant of Uaithnín (diminutive of uaithne , green)

Where the name comes from

Ó hUaithnín is descendant of Uaithnín, a little green one, and it belonged to a Dalcassian family in Thomond. Houneen, Huneen, Honeen and Oonin are the name left alone; Greene is the translation, and it is now very often used.

The other Greene is the Norman de Graoin: at the green, or village common, from living beside it, the name of an English family who settled in Dublin, Waterford and Limerick. The two can hardly now be told apart.

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 Greene 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

Clare

Clare is the Burren: bare limestone pavement where Arctic and Mediterranean plants grow side by side. The Cliffs of Moher are on the coast. Doolin and Miltown Malbay are two of the best-known traditional music towns in the country.

Dramatic view of the Cliffs of Moher on a windy day, Co. Clare, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxCliffs of Moher, Co. Clare Co. Clare Moonrise, Hag's Head, Cliffs of Moher, Co. ClareMoonrise, Hag's Head, Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare Co. Clare Aerial view of the Cliffs of Moher at sunset, Co. Clare, fine art aerial photograph by Peter CoxCliffs of Moher, Co. Clare Co. Clare

Dublin

Dublin is a county as well as a city. The bay has Howth at the north end and Killiney Hill at the south, the Muglins are a pair of rocks off Dalkey, and the Dublin Mountains start about half an hour from the city centre.

Moonlight reflecting on the sea near the Muglins lighthouse off Dalkey Island, Dublin, with the Kish light on the horizonThe Muglins by Moonlight II Co. Dublin Long exposure panoramic view of the White Rock swimming platform at Killiney Bay, Dublin, floating in misty high-tide watersThe White Rock, Killiney Bay, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin

Galway

Connemara takes up the west of the county: the Twelve Bens, blanket bog, and fields walled off into very small squares. The Aran Islands sit at the mouth of Galway Bay. The Gaeltacht starts a few miles west of Galway city.

Enormous waves sending spray over 30-metre sea cliffs at Poll an tSeidein on Inis Meain, Aran Islands at sunsetPoll an tSéideáin, Inis Meáin, Aran Islands, Co. Galway Co. Galway The rusting Plassey shipwreck on Inis Oirr, Aran Islands, seen from above with the Atlantic Ocean beyondThe Plassey, Inis Oirr, Aran Islands, Co. Galway Co. Galway

Tipperary

Tipperary is landlocked. The Golden Vale running through it is the best dairy land in Ireland. The Galtees are along the southern border, with Galtymore at 917 metres. The Rock of Cashel is a limestone outcrop with a medieval cathedral and round tower on top of it.

Aerial panoramic view of the Rock of Cashel at sunset, medieval towers glowing on a limestone outcrop in TipperaryThe Rock of Cashel, Tipperary Co. Tipperary Aerial vertical view of the Rock of Cashel at sunset, medieval ruins catching golden light on the Tipperary plainThe Rock of Cashel, Tipperary (vertical) Co. Tipperary

All Antrim prints · All Clare prints · All Dublin prints · All Galway prints · All Tipperary prints

Notable bearers

Graham Greene (1904-1991), writer, screenwriter, and journalist.

Ashley Greene (born 1987), actor and model.

Brian Greene (born 1963), actor, writer, and physicist.

Graham Greene (1952-2025), actor and musician.

Maurice Greene (born 1974), athletics competitor and sprinter.

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, 152 births were registered under Greene in Ireland, most of them in Antrim, Clare, Dublin, Galway, and Tipperary.

Ulster 54
Leinster 39
Munster 37
Connacht 22
Ireland 152