Editing Murphy (section)

== Origins and variants ==
The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac Murchaidh"/"[[Mac Murchadh]]" (son of "Murchadh")<ref>{{cite book | first = Paul| last = Brewer | title = Ireland: History, People, Culture| publisher = Running Press| year = 2002| page = 351 | isbn=0-7624-1269-0}}</ref> derived from the Irish [[personal name]] "Murchadh", which meant sea-warrior or sea-battler<ref>{{cite book | first = Edward| last = MacLysaght | title = The Surnames of Ireland| publisher = Irish Academic Press| year = 1991| page = 221 | isbn=978-0-7165-2366-6}}</ref> (''muir'' meaning sea and ''cath'' meaning battle).<ref>{{citation |last1=Hanks |first1=Patrick |author-link1= Patrick Hanks |last2=Hardcastle |first2=Kate |last3=Hodges |first3=Flavia |title=A Dictionary of First Names |edition=2nd |series=Oxford Paperback Reference |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-861060-1 |pages=352, 406 }}</ref>

According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Murphys were one of the chiefly families of the [[Uí Ceinnselaig]] who in turn were a tribe from the [[Dumnonii]] or [[Laigin]] who were the third wave of [[Celts]] to settle in [[Ireland]] during the first century [[Anno Domini|BC]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Cairney |first=C. Thomas |year=1989 |title=Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland |location=[[Jefferson, North Carolina]], United States, and London |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |pages=78–85 |isbn=0899503624}}</ref> The O'Murphys as one of the chiefly families of the Uí Ceinnselaig is supported by [[John O'Hart]] in his 1892 ''Irish Pedigrees; or, The Origin and Stem of The Irish Nation''.<ref>{{cite book |last=O'Hart |first=John |author-link=John O'Hart |year=1892 |title=Irish Pedigrees; or, The Origin and Stem of The Irish Nation |url=https://archive.org/details/irishpedigreesor_01ohar/page/n9/mode/2up |edition=5th |volume=1 |location=14 and 15 [[Wellington Quay]], Dublin; 28 Orchard Street, [[London]]; 14 Great Clyde Street, [[Glasgow]]; 36 & 38 Barclay Street, [[New York City]] |publisher=[[James Duffy (Irish publisher)|James Duffy]], [[Burns & Oates]], Hugh Margey, [[Benziger Bros|Benziger Brothers]] |pages=692–707}}</ref>

Murchadh is reported to have been gripped with a boiling awful rage, an extreme elevation and greatness of spirit and intellect when he joined the middle of the action and prepared to assail the foreign invaders, the Danes, after they had repulsed the [[Dal gCais]]. A gallantry and championship bird rose inside him and fluttered above his head and on his breath.<ref>{{cite book | first = W. M.| last = Hennessey | title = The Ancient Irish Goddess of War| date = 28 September 2020 | publisher = Library of Alexandria | page = 307 | isbn=978-1-6131-0276-3}}</ref>

In modern [[Irish language|Irish]], "Ó Murchú" or Mac Murchú rather than Mac/Ó Murchadha", is used.

"Murphy" is the [[List of most common surnames in Europe#Ireland|most common surname in Ireland]], the fourteenth most common surname in [[Lists of most common surnames in European countries#Northern Ireland|Northern Ireland]], and the sixty-fourth most common surname in the [[Lists of most common surnames in North American countries#United States|United States]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Frequently Occurring Surnames from the 2010 Census |url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=7 October 2024}}</ref>
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