Cassidy Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Cassidy last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Cassidy last name
Meaning of the Cassidy last name: descendant of Caiside ("curly-haired"). Cassidy comes from the Gaelic Ó Caiside, from a personal name that may mean "curly-haired". The O'Cassidys were well known as doctors to the Maguire lords of Fermanagh, and several were also poets and churchmen. The name is still most common in Fermanagh, Donegal and Monaghan. A curious detail: the outlaw Butch Cassidy was not a Cassidy at all; he was born Robert Leroy Parker.
Arms associated with the Cassidy name
In Gaelic Ireland, arms were often linked with a whole sept, and families of the Cassidy name have long been associated with their own traditional shield.
Get your full Cassidy family history
This is only a glimpse of the Cassidy story. The full Cassidy 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 Cassidy coat of arms. Get the full Cassidy report.
Cassidy name FAQ
What does the Cassidy name mean?
Descendant of Caiside ("curly-haired"). Common variants include Cassady, Cassiday, O'Cassidy.
Where does the Cassidy surname come from?
It originates in Ireland, and is also found in the United States, Scotland and England.
Is there a Cassidy coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Cassidy 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.