Oconnor

An Irish surname of Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, and Kerry. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 77,923 people, the 417th most common surname in the country.

Oconnor 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 Conchobhair

Ó Conchobhair, Ó Conchubhair. This family stood in the barony of Corcomroe in Co. Clare, the barony of Keenaght in Co. Derry, Co. Kerry, Co. Offaly, and Co. Sligo.

Where the name comes from

Ó Conchobhair is descendant of Conchobhar, high-will or desire, and it is one of the most numerous and widespread of Irish family names. There are at least six distinct families of it.

The Connacht O'Connors descend from Conchobhar, King of Connacht in the latter part of the 10th century, were long the ruling race in that province, and two of them became kings of all Ireland. They divided into three great branches: Ó Conchobhair Donn, the brown O'Connor; Ó Conchobhair Ruadh, the red; and Ó Conchobhair Sligeach, the O'Connor of Sligo. The present head of the family is known as The O'Conor Don.

The Offaly O'Connors descend from Ros Failghe, son of Cathaoir Mor, King of Ireland in the second century, and take their surname from Conchobhar, son of Fionn, lord of Offaly, who died in the year 979.

Mac Conchobhair is the same personal name with the other prefix, and it produced MacNogher, MacNaugher, Minogher, Nogher, Naugher and Naughter before most of them gave up and became Connor.

Dramatic view of the Cliffs of Moher on a windy day, Co. Clare, fine art landscape photograph by Peter Cox
Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare

The Oconnor counties, photographed

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.

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

Cork

Cork is the largest county in Ireland. Three peninsulas run west into the Atlantic: Beara, Sheep's Head and Mizen, with the population thinning the further out you go. My gallery is in Glengarriff at the head of Bantry Bay, so it's the ground I photograph most.

Rugged Atlantic coastline at Allihies, Cork, Ireland, with layered slate cliffs, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxAllihies Coast, Cork Co. Cork Sunset over Dun an Oir ruins and sea stacks on Cape Clear Island, Cork, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxDún an Óir, Cape Clear Island, Cork Co. Cork The Fastnet Lighthouse standing proud on a calm summer evening off West Cork in black and white panoramic viewThe Fastnet Lighthouse, Co. Cork Co. Cork

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

Kerry

Carrauntoohil in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks is the highest mountain in Ireland at 1,038 metres. The Dingle and Iveragh peninsulas run west from it, with the Skelligs eight miles off the Iveragh coast. I ran a gallery in Killarney for years.

Moody long exposure of Coumeenoole Beach with Blasket Islands, Dingle, Kerry, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxEvening, Coumeenoole Beach, Dingle, Kerry Co. Kerry Long exposure evening light on moss-covered rocks at Coumeenoole Beach, Dingle, Kerry, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxEvening II, Coumeenoole Beach, Dingle, Kerry Co. Kerry

All Clare prints · All Cork prints · All Dublin prints · All Galway prints · All Kerry prints

Notable bearers

Sinéad O'Connor (1966-2023), singer-songwriter.

Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964), writer, novelist, and film screenwriter.

Sandra Day O'Connor (1930-2023), politician, lawyer, and jurist.

Donald O'Connor (1925-2003), actor, singer, and musician.

Josh O'Connor (born 1990), actor and composer.

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: Johnson · Collins · Murphy · Howard · Coleman · Hayes · Mason · Palmer · Warren · Ryan · Lane · Franklin

How common the name was

In 1890, 266 births were registered under Oconnor in Ireland, most of them in Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, and Limerick.

Munster 174
Leinster 50
Connacht 29
Ulster 13
Ireland 266

Limerick is the one I haven't worked in.