Updated June 9, 2019

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Family name origins & meanings

  • Irish (County Cork) : Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Murthuile, ‘descendant of Murthuile’, a personal name from murthuile ‘sea tide’ (muir ‘sea’ + tuile ‘tide’, ‘flood’).
  • Irish (Donegal and Mayo) : Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Murghaile ‘descendant of Murghal’, a personal name from muir ‘sea’ + gal ‘valor’.
  • English : possibly of Irish origin, but it occurs chiefly in southwestern counties, suggesting that it may be a variant of the habitational name Morley, from Moreleigh in Devon.