A rose by any other surname

Kate and Delia Myers_edited
Catherine “Kate” Myers Kieron (left) and her sister Bridget “Delia” Myers Mitschke. Both women were born in County Galway, Ireland. Delia immigrated to the United States in about 1887 and Kate followed in about 1895.

Question: Is the surname “Myers” actually Irish – or could it be that my Myers ancestors emigrated from England to Ireland at some point, since “Myers” is a common English name and not so common in Ireland?  

I did some research and this is what I found.

“Myers” is a surname most common in the Cork-Kerry, Monaghan-Louth, Belfast area.  In Gaelic, the surname would have been “Ó Meidhir” which means “mirth”.  It is now written “Ó Mír” and was originally of County Clare and related to “O’Meara”.  The English name “Myers” may be involved in the case of those found in the Ulster (northern Ireland) and eastern areas. Continue reading