O'Dea

O'Dea
Language(s)English, from Irish
Origin
DerivationÓ Deághaidh
MeaningDescendant of Deághaidh (an Irish chieftain)
Region of originCounty Clare, Ireland

O'Dea (/oʊˈdiː/ oh-DEE; Irish: Ó Deághaidh, formerly Ua Deághaidh), is an Irish surname derived from Deághaidh, the name of a tenth-century clan chieftain.[1] According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Deas were one of the chiefly families of the Dal gCais or Dalcassians who were a tribe of the Erainn who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland between about 500 and 100 BC.[2]

  1. ^ Cathréim Cellacháin Caisil, Alexander Bugge, page 88, https://archive.org/details/caithreimcellach00norsuoft/page/88/mode/2up
  2. ^ Cairney, C. Thomas (1989). Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States, and London: McFarland & Company. pp. 61–69. ISBN 0899503624.