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Origins of the O'Brien Family Name. O'Brien, one of the greatest of all Irish names, derives from the Gaelic word "Bran", meaning "raven", and signifies "descendant of Br(i)an. The Brian referred to is the famous Brian Boru, King of Munster and High King of Ireland, who defeated the Danes at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Brian Boru was, in turn, a descendant of Milesius, King of Spain, who conquered Ireland in 504 B.C. There are many variations on the name, such as O'Brian, O'Bryan, O'Bryon, O'Byrne, O'Ryan, Byrne and Ryan. It appears that our ancestors took the name Byrne at some point and then returned to O'Brien. |
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