Carmody
An Irish surname, usually understood as a form of the Gaelic name linked to a personal name or small place-name tradition.
The #6,041 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 54,280 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Carmody is an Anglicized Irish surname. The historical forms in older Irish scholarship connect it with Gaelic spellings such as O'Cearmada or similar, though the exact early form is not always presented consistently in the older sources. In broad terms, the name is usually explained from an Irish personal-name base rather than from an occupation or an English word.
History
The surname is found in Ireland, especially in the south and west, and later appears in significant numbers in Irish emigrant communities. The name was recorded by 19th- and early-20th-century Irish genealogists as a recognized Irish family name, though the precise medieval spelling is sometimes uncertain in those works. In modern usage it is established chiefly as an Irish-American and Irish surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older Irish surname lists, Carmody is often grouped with other names beginning in the Gaelic sound written with c/k in English, reflecting how variable Anglicization could be.
From the historical record
“lan, Carrolan, etc. 0 CeAtimAT)A, Carmody, Ker- mody. 0 CeA|tnACAin, Carnahan, Ker- naghan, Kernahan, Kernan, Kernon, etc.”
— Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish names and surnames