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O'brien Family History

O'brien Surname Meaning

Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Briain ‘descendant of Brian’, a personal name probably based on the element bre- ‘hill’, with the transferred sense ‘eminence’, i.e. ‘exalted one’.

See also Bryan.

In Ireland there has also been some confusion with O’Byrne (see Byrne).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


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Where is the O'brien family from?

You can see how O'brien families moved over time by selecting different census years. The O'brien family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1841 and 1920. The most O'brien families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 585 O'brien families living in Lancashire. This was about 30% of all the recorded O'brien's in United Kingdom. Lancashire had the highest population of O'brien families in 1891.
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Census Records

There are 1 million census records available for the last name O'brien. Like a window into their day-to-day life, O'brien census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

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Passenger Lists

There are 199,000 immigration records available for the last name O'brien. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 183,000 military records available for the last name O'brien. For the veterans among your O'brien ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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