Wise

An Irish surname of Munster. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 68,649 people, the 485th most common surname in the country.

Wise 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 Uidheas. This family stood in Co. Waterford.

Uidheas

Where the name comes from

de Uidheas is the Norman le Wise: the wise. It is hardly from a place-name, the old de standing in for the article. The Wyses were an old family in Waterford.

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

Munster, photographed

Photographs made in Munster.

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 Aerial view of O'Brien's Tower on the Cliffs of Moher bathed in warm sunset light with the Atlantic Ocean reflecting golden huesO'Brien's Tower, Cliffs 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

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 An Searrach sea stack at night near Dingle, Co. Kerry, Ireland, long exposure fine art photograph by Peter CoxAn Searrach, Dingle, Co. Kerry Co. Kerry

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 Clare prints · All Cork prints · All Kerry prints · All Tipperary prints

Notable bearers

Robert Wise (1914-2005), film producer, director, and film editor.

Ray Wise (born 1947), actor.

Dennis Wise (born 1966), association football player, association football coach, and sports executive.

David Wise (born 1990), freestyle skier.

Greg Wise (born 1966), actor and film producer.

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

How common the name was

In 1890, 8 births were registered under Wise in Ireland and no county is recorded for it. Munster holds 75 per cent of that total, which is where this page looks.

Munster 6
Leinster 2
Connacht no figure printed
Ulster no figure printed
Ireland 8