The Irish Griffin surname comes from the Gaelic Ó Gríobhtha, "descendant of Gríobhtha," a personal name built on gríobh, the griffin of legend, and used as a byname for a fierce fighter. The family grew up in two Munster homelands, County Clare and County Kerry, and Griffin is still one of the hundred most common surnames in Ireland, strongest in Clare, Kerry, Cork and Limerick.
Quick answer: Griffin is Irish, from Ó Gríobhtha, "griffin," meaning fierce. The Clare family's seat was Ballygriffy near Ennis, and the Kerry family was centered on Ballygriffin in the barony of Glanarought. A smaller Irish Griffin line descends from Welsh Griffiths who settled after the twelfth century. See the full range in our Griffin Irish family gifts collection.
What Does the Griffin Name Mean?
Gríobhtha comes from gríobh, the Irish word for the griffin, the half-eagle, half-lion creature of medieval legend. As a personal name it marked a man out as fierce and formidable, and his descendants took it as their surname: Ó Gríobhtha, written Ó Gríofa in modern Irish. English-speaking clerks wrote the name as O'Griffy, Griffey and, above all, Griffin.
Where Did the Griffin Family Come From?
Two Gaelic families of the name took root in Munster. In County Clare, the Ó Gríobhtha seat was Ballygriffy, near Ennis in the heart of Thomond, the O'Brien kingdom. In County Kerry, a second family was centered on Ballygriffin in the barony of Glanarought, the rugged country around the Kenmare River. Both places still carry the family name on the map of Ireland.
From those two starting points the families spread and intermingled across Clare, Kerry, Cork and Limerick, and the southwest of Ireland remains Griffin country today.
What Is the Welsh Griffith Connection?
A smaller number of Irish Griffins have a different story. The Welsh personal name Gruffudd, anglicized as Griffith, came into Ireland with Welsh settlers after the twelfth century, and in some places Griffith and Griffin crossed over in the records. For families from Clare, Kerry and Limerick, the Gaelic Ó Gríobhtha is the family root; for a line that appears in an eastern town or a settler parish, the Welsh story is worth a look. Our Welsh Griffin history covers that side of the name.
What Is the Heritage of the Griffin Name in Munster?
The Griffins of Clare and Kerry lived within the political world of Munster's great dynasties: the O'Brien kings of Thomond to the north and the McCarthy lords of Desmond to the south, with the FitzGerald earls of Desmond pressing from the east. In Clare the family sat close to Ennis and the O'Brien heartland; in Kerry, Glanarought lay in McCarthy country. The O'Brien and McCarthy histories give the wider picture of those two worlds.
How Did the Griffins Experience the Plantation and Famine Eras?
The Munster Plantation of the 1580s and 1590s and the Cromwellian settlements of the 1650s broke up the Gaelic landholding of Kerry and Clare, and like most Gaelic families of the southwest the Griffins became tenants under new landlords. The penal laws of the eighteenth century further restricted Catholic property rights, and by the early nineteenth century most Griffin families were farming smallholdings across Kerry and Clare.
The Great Famine of the 1840s struck Kerry and Clare with particular severity; these were among the poorest and most densely populated counties in Ireland. Griffin families boarded emigrant ships for New York, Boston, Liverpool and Sydney in large numbers during and after the Famine years, and Griffin became one of the most familiar Irish names in Massachusetts and New York.
Who Are Notable Griffins?
The best-known Irish Griffin is the novelist Gerald Griffin (1803–1840), born in Limerick city. His novel The Collegians (1829) was one of the most widely read Irish books of the nineteenth century and became the basis for Dion Boucicault's hit play The Colleen Bawn. Griffin later joined the Christian Brothers and died in Cork at the age of thirty-six.
Where Is the Griffin Name Found Today?
Griffin ranks among the hundred most common surnames in Ireland and is still concentrated in Clare and Kerry and the neighboring counties of Cork and Limerick. Emigration spread it widely, and the name is common today in the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada.
How Do I Research Griffin Ancestry?
- Civil records: births, marriages and deaths from 1864 are free to search on IrishGenealogy.ie, which also holds many Kerry parish registers.
- Census: the 1901 and 1911 returns for Clare and Kerry are free through the National Archives of Ireland.
- Land records: Griffith's Valuation (1847–1864) and the Tithe Applotment Books show where Griffin households lived before civil registration.
- Catholic registers: the National Library of Ireland's parish register collection covers most Clare and Kerry parishes.
- Spellings: search Griffin, Griffey, O'Griffin and Griffith.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Griffin Name
Is Griffin an Irish surname?
Yes. Most Irish Griffins descend from the Gaelic Ó Gríobhtha families of Clare and Kerry.
What does Griffin mean?
It comes from gríobh, "griffin," a byname for a fierce fighter.
Where in Ireland are Griffins from?
County Clare, around Ballygriffy near Ennis, and County Kerry, around Ballygriffin in Glanarought, with many families in Cork and Limerick.
Are Griffin and Griffith the same name?
Usually not. Griffith is Welsh, from Gruffudd, while most Irish Griffins are Gaelic Ó Gríobhtha. A few Irish lines crossed between the two spellings.
Descendants of this Clare and Kerry family can find woven blankets, garden flags, mugs and other keepsakes bearing the Griffin name and crest in our Griffin family gifts collection.