Murphy

Murphy (/ˈ m ɜːr f i / ) (Irish: Ua Murchadha-) is an Irish surname and the most common surname in the Republic of Ireland.

The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac Murchaidh"/"Mac Murchadh" (son of "Murchadh")[1] derived from the Irish personal name "Murchadh", which meant sea-warrior or sea-battler[2] (muir meaning sea and cath meaning battle).[3]

It is said of Murrough (Murchadh) as he entered the thick of the fight and prepared to assail the foreign invaders, the Danes, when they had repulsed the Dal-Cais, that 'he was seized with a boiling terrible anger, an excessive elevation and greatness of spirit and mind. A bird of valour and championship rose in him, and fluttered over his head and on his breath.[4]

In modern Irish, "Ó Murchú", rather than "Ó Murchadha", is used.

"Murphy" is the most common surname in Ireland, the fourteenth most common surname in Northern Ireland, and the fifty-eighth most common surname in the United States.[5]