The meaning of the O apostrophe in O'Hara
What does the O' signify on Irish names?
What is the origin (meaning) of the
name?
Jana Strong
Webmaster's
reply
Dear Jana,
the O' (really Ó or
Uí), like Mac, in an Irish or Scottish (Gaelig) name means
"son of". The name probably means something like "son of Hara". I'm
James O'Hara so in Irish that would be Séamus
Ó hEaghra.
The feminine form of Ó is "ní" meaning "daughter
of". Thus, a girl called
Mary O'Hara would be Máire ní hEaghra.
The gh in the name is an
aspirated g and was abbreviated in the Gaelig script as g with a dot
over it. See the O'Hara crest on the home page.
Here's a link about a fifteenth-century
O'Hara on the history
page at this site.