This is a list of surnames in which the origin is Old Celtic. The Celtic languages are a group of related languages now spoken primarily on the British Islands and Brittany.
CareyIrish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ciardha meaning "descendant of Ciardha".
CarlisleEnglish From the name of a city in northern England. The city was originally called by the Romans Luguvalium meaning "stronghold of Lugus". Later the Brythonic element ker "fort" was appended to the name of the city.
CarrollIrish From the given name Cearbhall. A famous bearer was Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
DesmondIrish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Deasmhumhnaigh meaning "descendant of the man from South Munster", originally indicating a person who came from the region of South Munster (Desmond) in Ireland.
DonovanIrish Anglicized form of the Irish name Ó Donndubháin meaning "descendant of Donndubán".
DouglasScottish From the name of a town in Lanarkshire, itself named after a tributary of the River Clyde called the Douglas Water, derived from Gaelic dubh "dark" and glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to glas "grey, green"). This was a Scottish Lowland clan, the leaders of which were powerful earls in the medieval period.
DownerEnglish Name for someone who lived on or near a down, which is an English word meaning "hill".
DoyleIrish From the Irish Ó Dubhghaill, which means "descendant of Dubhghall". A famous bearer was Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), the author of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories.
DuaneIrish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Dubháin meaning "descendant of Dubhán".
Duffy 1Irish Derived from Irish Ó Dubhthaigh meaning "descendant of Dubthach". Their original homeland was Monaghan where the surname is still the most common; they are also from Donegal and Roscommon.
FlanaganIrish From Irish Ó Flannagáin meaning "descendant of Flannagán". Flannagán is a given name meaning "blood red". From County Roscommon in Ireland, it has many other spellings.
GlennScottish, English From place names derived from Gaelic gleann"valley". A famous bearer was the American astronaut John Glenn (1921-2016).
GlynnWelsh, Cornish Topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, from Welsh glyn and Cornish glin, or a habitational name from a place named with this word.
Gough 2Irish Anglicized form of Irish Gaelic Mag Eochadha meaning "son of Eochaidh".
GuinnessIrish Variant of McGuinness. The name is well known because of the Guinness brand of ale, established in 1759 by Arthur Guinness.
HadenEnglish From a place name derived from Old English hæþ "heath" and dun "hill".
HamiltonEnglish, Scottish From an English place name, derived from Old English hamel "crooked, mutilated" and dun "hill". This was the name of a town in Leicestershire, England (which no longer exists).
JekyllEnglish Derived from the Breton given name Judicaël. This name was used by Robert Louis Stevenson for the character of Dr Henry Jekyll in the book Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).
KavanaghIrish Derived from the Irish Gaelic name Caomhánach, which means "a student of saint Caomhán". It was the name used by a 12th-century king of Leinster, Domhnall Caomhánach, the eldest son of the historic Irish king Diarmait Mac Murchada.
Kelly 1Irish Anglicized form of Irish Ó Ceallaigh meaning "descendant of Ceallach". Famous bearers include actor and dancer Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and actress and princess Grace Kelly (1929-1982).
KendallEnglish Derived from the town of Kendal in England, so-called from the river Kent, on which it is situated, and Old English dæl meaning "valley, dale".
KennedyIrish From the Irish name Ó Cinnéidigh meaning "descendant of Cennétig". This surname was borne by assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963).
LyndonEnglish Originally from a place name meaning "linden tree hill" in Old English.
Lyon 1English, French Originally denoted a person from the city of Lyon in central France, originally Latin Lugdunum, of Gaulish origin meaning "hill fort of Lugus". It could also denote a person from the small town of Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy.
MacBethScottish Derived from the Gaelic given name Mac Beatha meaning "son of life", which denoted a man of religious devotion. This was the name of an 11th-century Scottish king, and the name of a play based on his life by William Shakespeare.
Mac BranáinIrish Means "son of Branán" in Irish. The given name Branán is a diminutive of Bran 1.
MacKenzieScottish Anglicized form of Gaelic MacCoinnich meaning "son of Coinneach". It originates from the Kintail area of Scotland on the northwest coast.
McCauleyIrish, Scottish Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Amhalghaidh or Mac Amhalghadha meaning "son of Amhalghaidh". The given name Amhalghaidh, from Old Irish Amalgaid, is of uncertain meaning.
McDermottIrish Anglicized form of Irish Mac Diarmada meaning "son of Diarmaid". The McDermotts were nobility in the Kingdom of Connaught, a province in Ireland.