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O'connell Family History

O'connell Surname Meaning

Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Conaill ‘descendant of Conall’, a personal name, possibly composed of the elements con, from cú ‘hound’ or ‘wolf’ (genitive con) + gal ‘valour’. It was borne by many early chieftains and warriors of Ireland, including the Ulster hero Conall Cearnach, one of the two sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages, who gave his name to Tirconell, otherwise known as Donegal.

It was further popularized by the fame of a 7th-century Irish saint, abbot of Inis Caoil.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


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You can see how O'connell families moved over time by selecting different census years. The O'connell family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1851 and 1920. The most O'connell families were found in USA in 1880. In 1880 there were 1,065 O'connell families living in New York. This was about 21% of all the recorded O'connell's in USA. New York had the highest population of O'connell families in 1880.
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Census Records

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Passenger Lists

There are 52,000 immigration records available for the last name O'connell. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 53,000 military records available for the last name O'connell. For the veterans among your O'connell ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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