Ó BaoighillA name rooted in Donegal
Explore the history, language and geography of a Gaelic surname, from medieval Tír Chonaill to families around the world.
Photo: Maghery and Crohy Tower from the lough, Mhdelaney (CC BY-SA 4.0) Sources
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A name that became a placeThe Uí Bhaoighill gave their name to Críoch Bhaoigheallach, “O’Boyle’s country”, and through it to the barony of Boylagh in west Donegal.Explore the places
A surname preserved in the landscapeCroich Uí Bhaoill, “the gallows of Ó Baoill”, near Dungloe; Mullán Tí Uí Bhaoill, “the hill-top of Boyle’s house”: the name is written into townlands and hills.Find the placenames
A name recorded across generationsFrom the Annals to the censuses of 1901, 1911 and 1926: see where people of the name lived, county by county and district by district.Explore the census
The name as the records wrote it
Each form is quoted from a dated source.
In short
Ó Baoighill is an Irish surname meaning “descendant of Baoigheall”. O’Boyle and Boyle are its anglicised forms.18
The Uí Bhaoighill were chiefs in the west of Tír Chonaill, and their name survives in the barony of Boylagh in County Donegal.18,21Scholarly interpretation
In 1911 more than one in three people of the name in Ireland lived in Donegal.57
More to explore
- The NameWhat the name means and how its forms change.
- Through HistoryFrom Tír Chonaill to the census era, with the evidence for each step.
- People and StoriesDocumented lives connected with the name.
- Historical RecordsCensus returns, placename records and early printed sources.
- Researching Your Boyle or Ó Baoighill Ancestors