Moriarty Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Moriarty last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Moriarty last name
Meaning of the Moriarty last name: sea navigator. Moriarty is an Irish surname from Ó Muircheartaigh, "descendant of Muircheartach", meaning "navigator" or "sea skilled". The family belonged to Kerry, around Castlemaine. The last name is still strongly Kerry, and Arthur Conan Doyle used it for the villain Professor Moriarty. It remains common around Tralee and Killarney.
Arms associated with the Moriarty name
Coats of arms associated with the Moriarty surname follow Irish heraldry, each set out in a short blazon.
Get your full Moriarty family history
This is only a glimpse of the Moriarty story. The full Moriarty history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Moriarty coat of arms. Get the full Moriarty report.
Moriarty name FAQ
What does the Moriarty name mean?
Sea navigator. Common variants include O'Moriarty, Murtagh.
Where does the Moriarty surname come from?
It originates in Ireland, and is also found in the United States, England and Australia.
Is there a Moriarty coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Moriarty coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland; Patrick Woulfe, Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames (1923).