The most frequent family names with roots in County Longford — names that spread through Ireland and the Irish diaspora:
Longford is one of Ireland's smaller and less-visited counties, but its emigration rate made it punch above its weight in the diaspora. The county lost enormous proportions of its population through the Famine and subsequent emigration — the 2011 census showed Longford's population was still below its 1841 pre-Famine level.
The O'Farrells were the ancient ruling family of Longford — Lords of Annaly. Their surname, from Ó Fearghail ('descendant of the super-valour one'), is the most characteristic Longford name. The town of Longford grew up around a Dominican monastery founded in the thirteenth century.
Oliver Goldsmith, one of the greatest Irish writers of the eighteenth century, was born in the village of Pallas in County Longford. His novel 'The Vicar of Wakefield' and his poem 'The Deserted Village' — a lament for rural depopulation — were both shaped by his Longford childhood.
Longford's emigrant stream went heavily to Australia, New York, and Britain. The county's post-Famine population collapse was among the most severe in Ireland. Families with Longford origins in Australia often trace their ancestry to Famine-era transportation or assisted emigration schemes.
Love Ireland covers Oliver Goldsmith's Longford, the Royal Canal, Lough Ree, and the quiet drumlin landscape of a county that shaped more American and Australian families than its size would suggest.
Subscribe to Love Ireland — FreeIf your family came from County Longford, here's where to start your research:
Common County Longford surnames with dedicated pages on this site: