Rafferty Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Rafferty last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Rafferty last name
Meaning of the Rafferty last name: descendant of Rabhartach ("flood tide"). Rafferty comes from the Gaelic Ó Rabhartaigh, from a personal name meaning "flood tide", which suggests a man full of energy. The family were linked with the church on Tory Island, off the Donegal coast, and the name later spread inland across Ulster and Leinster. A curious detail: Roarty is a Donegal form of the same name, and Rafferty is now familiar in Glasgow, Liverpool and New York.
Arms associated with the Rafferty name
In Ireland, arms were often shown with a motto in Irish or Latin, and the Rafferty name shares in that long, proud tradition.
Get your full Rafferty family history
This is only a glimpse of the Rafferty story. The full Rafferty 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 Rafferty coat of arms. Get the full Rafferty report.
Rafferty name FAQ
What does the Rafferty name mean?
Descendant of Rabhartach ("flood tide"). Common variants include O'Rafferty, Raverty, Roarty.
Where does the Rafferty surname come from?
It originates in Ireland, and is also found in the United States, England and Scotland.
Is there a Rafferty coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Rafferty 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); US Census Bureau 2010.