Murtha Name Meaning, Origin and Heraldry

Ask a genealogist about Murtha and the first name they will mention is Murtagh. Surname dictionaries give the meaning as “Descendant of the navigator”.

Murtha coat of arms

There is no single Murtha family crest for every bearer. Herald Lab researches the arms historically associated with the name and explains whose they were.

A variant of Murtagh

Before spelling was fixed, Murtagh was also written Murtha. Spellings drifted because names were written down by ear in parish books, tax rolls and passenger lists. The same family of names includes Murt, Murtaugh and Mortagh.

In the 2010 US Census, 3,573 Americans gave Murtha as their last name (rank 9,137). For the full story, order the Murtha surname pack.