Pierce

An Irish surname of Leinster. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 138,629 people, the 202nd most common surname in the country.

Pierce 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 Piarais, son of Piers (the Norman form of Peter)

Piaras, son of Piers (an Anglo-Norman form of Petrus, Latin for Peter, very common among the early Anglo-Norman settlers in Ireland). This family stood in Co. Kerry.

Where the name comes from

Piaras is son of Piers, an Anglo-Norman form of Petrus, the Latin for Peter, and very common among the early Anglo-Norman settlers. There are no doubt several distinct families of it in different parts of the country; the Pierses of Kerry are stated to be a branch of the Fitzmaurices of Lixnaw.

Mac Piarais is the same name with a prefix, and it gives Pierson and Pearson too.

Moonlight reflecting on the sea near the Muglins lighthouse off Dalkey Island, Dublin, with the Kish light on the horizon
The Muglins by Moonlight II

Leinster, photographed

Photographs made in Leinster.

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.

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 Heron fishing at dawn on the Dublin coast — fine art wildlife photograph by Peter CoxHeron, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin

Wexford

Wexford gets more sunshine than anywhere else in Ireland. Hook Head lighthouse has been working since the thirteenth century, which makes it one of the oldest in the world. The beaches on that coast, Curracloe and Rosslare among them, run for miles and are mostly empty.

Hook Lighthouse beam reflecting across calm waters at dusk, Co. Wexford — fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxHook Lighthouse at Dusk, Wexford Co. Wexford Black and white panoramic of Hook Head lighthouse and wild sea under brooding skies, Co. Wexford — fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxHook Head, Co. Wexford Co. Wexford Moonrise, Tramore, Co. WexfordMoonrise, Tramore, Co. Wexford Co. Wexford Long exposure of carnival Ferris wheel at night on the coast, Tramore, Co. Wexford, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxCarnival, Tramore, Co. Wexford Co. Wexford

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 Dublin prints · All Wexford prints · All Wicklow prints

Notable bearers

Franklin Pierce (1804-1869), politician, lawyer, and military officer.

Mary Pierce (born 1975), tennis player.

Paul Pierce (born 1977), basketball player.

Jane Pierce (1806-1863), politician.

David Hyde Pierce (born 1959), actor, musician, and theatre director.

No county is recorded for this name, so this page works from the province the figures point to rather than a single place.

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: Williams · Davis · Edwards · Cooper · Kelly · Cox · Brooks · Wood · James · Price · Butler · Jordan

How common the name was

In 1890, 38 births were registered under Pierce in Ireland and no county is recorded for it. Leinster holds 55 per cent of that total, which is where this page looks.

Leinster 21
Munster 9
Ulster 6
Connacht 2
Ireland 38