O'Malley Surname Meaning & Origin
What the O'Malley last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the O'Malley last name
Meaning of the O'Malley last name: descendant of Máille. O'Malley comes from the Gaelic Ó Máille and belongs to the west of Ireland, around Clew Bay in County Mayo. The O'Malleys were a seafaring people, famous for their ships and harbours. A curious detail: Grace O'Malley, the sixteenth century sea captain known as the Pirate Queen, once met Queen Elizabeth I face to face and refused to bow.
Arms associated with the O'Malley name
A curious Irish detail: Norman and the Gaelic families sometimes borrowed symbols from each other after marriages, and O'Malley name belongs to that mixed world.
Get your full O'Malley family history
This is only a glimpse of the O'Malley story. The full O'Malley history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted O'Malley coat of arms. Get the full O'Malley report.
O'Malley name FAQ
What does the O'Malley name mean?
Descendant of Máille. Common variants include Malley, O'Mealy, Melia.
Where does the O'Malley surname come from?
It originates in Ireland, and is also found in the United States, England and Australia.
Is there a O'Malley coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized O'Malley coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).