Kilroy Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Kilroy last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Kilroy last name
Meaning of the Kilroy last name: the son of the red-haired man. According to Elsdon Smith, the Irish surname Kilroy first described the son of the red-haired man. Patronymic names like Kilroy identified people through a parent or ancestor. Modern surname data shows Kilroy bearers in the United States, England and Ireland.
Arms associated with the Kilroy name
Sharing a surname establishes no coat of arms entitlement; heraldry follows documented individual lineages.
Get your full Kilroy family history
This is only a glimpse of the Kilroy story. The full Kilroy 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 Kilroy coat of arms. Get the full Kilroy report.
Kilroy name FAQ
What does the Kilroy name mean?
The son of the red-haired man.
Where does the Kilroy surname come from?
It originates in Ireland, and is also found in the United States and England.
Is there a Kilroy coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Kilroy coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Elsdon C. Smith, Dictionary of American Family Names (1956), individual surname entries; modern indexed dictionary entries supersede conflicting interpretations.; Forebears, Surnam.es and individual surname distribution references.