Murphy |
Family name |
Meaning |
"sea-warrior" |
Region of origin |
Ireland |
Language(s) of origin |
Irish |
Related names |
Murchadh, Murphey, MacMurphy, MacMurrough, Morphy, O'Morchoe, O'Murphy |
Murphy is an Anglicized version of two Irish surnames: Ó Murchadha/Ó Murchadh ("descendant of Murchadh"), and Mac Murchaidh/Mac Murchadh ("son of Murchadh")[1] derived from the Irish personal name Murchadh, which meant "sea-warrior" or "sea-battler".[2] (Muir meaning "sea" and cath meaning "battle").[3]
Spelling variations include Murphey, MacMurphy, MacMurrough, O'Morchoe and others.[4] In modern Irish, "Ó Murchú", rather than "Ó Murchadha", is used.
Murphy is the most common surname in Ireland and the fifty-eighth most common surname in the United States.[5]
Notable people named Murphy
Men
- '''Araño, John Murphy E.'''(Professor), A teacher in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines
- Alex Murphy (rugby league), English rugby league footballer
- Anthony Murphy (footballer) (born 1982), Irish soccer player
- Anthony Murphy (cricketer) (born 1962), English cricketer
- Arthur Murphy, several people:
- Audie Murphy (1925–1971), American war hero and actor
- Austin J. Murphy (born 1927), Democratic Congressman from Pennsylvania
- Barnes Murphy (born 1947), Famous Sligo Gaelic Footballer
- Bob Murphy, several people, see Robert Murphy
- Brian Murphy, several people:
- Brian Murphy (actor) (born 1933), British actor most noted for his role as George Roper in the sitcom George and Mildred
- Brian Murphy (politician), former mayor of Moncton in New Brunswick, Canada
- Brian Murphy (cricketer) (born 1976), former captain of the Zimbabwean cricket team
- Brian Murphy (dual player) (born 1952), former hurler and Gaelic footballer with Cork, Ireland
- Brian Murphy (footballer) (born 1983), currently playing for Bohemian F.C.
- Brian Murphy (politician) (born 1956), first to win independent race in his town
- Brian Murphy (hurler) (born 1982), corner-back on the Cork, Ireland, senior hurling team
- Brian Murphy (writer) (born 1959), religion editor for the Associated Press
- Calvin Murphy (born 1948), American retired basketball player
- Charles Murphy, several people:
- Charles Murphy (1880–1958), Irish politician more commonly referred to as Cathal Ó Murchadha
- Charles Murphy (architect) (1890–1985), the Chicago based architect of C.F. Murphy Associates, later Murphy/Jahn Inc.
- Charles Murphy (Canadian politician) (1862–1935)
- Charles Francis Murphy (1858–1924), American political figure
- Charles Minthorn Murphy (1870–1950), aka "Mile-a-Minute" Murphy, American cyclist
- Charles Quinton Murphy (born 1959), American writer, actor, and stand-up comedian
- Charles Terrence Murphy (politician) (born 1926), Canadian politician
- Cillian Murphy (born 1976), Irish actor
- Colin Murphy, several people:
- Conor Murphy, Sinn Féin politician in Northern Ireland
- Dale Murphy, several people:
- Daniel Murphy, several people
- Danny Murphy, several people
- Daryl Murphy, Irish professional football player
- David Murphy, several people:
- Dick Murphy (born 1942), American retired Republican politician
- Donald E. Murphy (born 1960), American Republican politician
- Derek Murphy, (born 1968) American Rapper aka Sadat X
- Eddie Murphy, several people:
- Edgar Gardner Murphy (1869–1913), American clergyman and author
- Edward Murphy, several people, most notably:
- Elliott Murphy (born 1949), American singer/songwriter
- Everett J. Murphy (1852–1922), politician
- Francis Murphy, several people:
- Frank Murphy, several people:
- George Murphy (1902–1992, American dancer, actor, and Republican Senator
- Henry Murphy, several people:
- Isaac Murphy, several people:
- Jack Murphy, several people:
- James or Jimmy Murphy, several people:
- James Murphy (electronic musician) (born 1970), American
- James Murphy (metal guitarist) (born 1967), American heavy metal guitarist
- James Murphy (soccer), retired American soccer player
- James "Quick" Murphy (born 1959), retired Canadian football player
- James A. Murphy III, District Attorney, Saratoga County, New York
- James Anthony Murphy (1894–1924), "Jimmy" Murphy, American racing driver
- James J. Murphy (1898–1962), a United States Representative from New York
- James William Murphy (1858–1927), a United States Representative from Wisconsin
- Jimmy Murphy (cartoonist) (1891–1965), cartoonist of Toots and Casper comic strip
- Jimmy Murphy (footballer) (1910–1989), Welsh football player and manager
- Jimmy Murphy (musician), (1925–1981), American Country musician
- Jimmy Murphy (playwright) (born 1962), Irish playwright
- John Murphy, several people:
- John Murphy (Alabama) (1786–1841), American Democratic Governor and Congressman from Alabama
- John Murphy (announcer), American football announcer for the Buffalo Bills
- John Murphy (Australian politician) (born 1950), member of the House of Representatives
- John Murphy (Australian rules footballer) (born 1949), former champion player with the Fitzroy Football Club in the 1960s and 1970s
- John Murphy (baseball infielder) (died 1949), aka Soldier Boy, a baseball infielder
- John Murphy (baseball pitcher), a 19th century baseball pitcher
- John Murphy (Canadian politician) (born 1937), member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993–1997
- John Murphy (composer) (born 1965), British composer of film scores
- John Murphy (economist), financial market analyst
- John Murphy (English footballer) (born 1976), English striker for Chester City
- John Murphy (Irish footballer), played for Bohemian F.C.
- John Murphy (musician) (born 1959), sometimes credited as "Jonh Murphy", Australian drummer and multi-instrument musician
- John Murphy (playwright) (1929–1998), Irish dramatist, author of The Country Boy.
- John Murphy (swimmer) (born 1953), retired American Olympic gold medalist in swimming
- Father John Murphy (1753–1798), one of the leaders during the Irish Rebellion of 1798
- John A. Murphy (born 1927), Irish historian and former independent Senator from Cork
- John Alphonsus Murphy, American Medal of Honor recipient
- John Benjamin Murphy (1857–1916), American surgeon, president of the American Medical Association in 1911
- John E. Murphy (1869–1941), United States Navy sailor and Medal of Honor recipient during the Spanish-American War
- John Francis Murphy (1853–1921), American landscape painter
- John J. Murphy (born 1959), American Republican politician
- John Michael Murphy, US Congressman from New York, implicated in Abscam
- John W. Murphy (1902–1962), American Democratic Congressman from Pennsylvania
- John W. Murphy (Connecticut), former mayor of New Haven, Connecticut
- Joseph Murphy, several people
- Kevin Murphy, several people:
- Lambert Murphy (1885–?), American tenor, sang at the Metropolitan Opera
- Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. (born 1974), American singer, winner of season 6 of America's Got Talent
- Larry Murphy (born 1961), Canadian retired professional ice hockey player
- Lionel Murphy (born 1922), Australian politician and jurist
- Marc Murphy (born 1987), Australian rules footballer
- Mark Murphy, several people:
- Martin Murphy, several people
- Matt Murphy, several people:
- Michael Murphy, several people:
- Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor
- Michael Murphy (author) (born 1930), American Integral Movement author and co-founder of the Esalen Institute
- Michael Murphy (diver) (born 1973), retired Australian Olympic diver
- Michael Murphy (New Jersey politician) (born 1949), New Jersey lobbyist, former Prosecutor and candidate for Governor
- Michael Murphy (priest) (c. 1767 – 1798), co-leader in the Irish Rebellion of 1798
- Michael Murphy (singer) (born 1986), New Zealand Idol runner up
- Michael Murphy (VC) (c. 1837 – 1893), Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross
- Michael Bryan Murphy, former lead singer of REO Speedwagon
- Michael D. Murphy, United States Air Force Colonel under charges for falsely claiming to be an attorney
- Michael P. Murphy (1976–2005), United States Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient, killed in action in Afghanistan
- Michael Martin Murphey (born 1945, American singer and songwriter
- Mick Murphy (Sinn Féin politician) (born 1942)
- Mike Murphy, several people:
- Nicholas Murphy (born 1978), Gaelic footballer
- Nicholas Daniel Murphy (1811–1890), Irish politician from Cork, Member of Parliament (MP) 1865–1880
- Nick Murphy (born 1979), American football player
- Oakes Murphy (1849–1908), Two-time Governor of Arizona Territory
- Paul Murphy, several people
- Peter Murphy, several people:
- Philip D. Murphy (born 1957), ambassador
- Richard Murphy, several people:
- Rob Murphy, several people:
- Robert Murphy, several people:
- Irish Bob Murphy (1922–1961), American light heavyweight boxer
- Bob Murphy (announcer) (1924–2004), American baseball announcer
- Bob Murphy (golfer) (born 1943), American PGA winning golfer
- Bob Murphy (musician), Canadian jazz pianist
- Robert Murphy (Australian rules footballer) (born 1982), Australian rules football
- Robert C. Murphy (1926–2000), American lawyer and judge
- Robert Cushman Murphy (1887–1973), American ornithologist
- Robert Daniel Murphy (1894&ndas1978), American diplomat
- Robert F. Murphy (politician), American retired Republican politician, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1957 to 1961
- Robert F. Murphy (anthropologist) (1924–1990), American anthropologist
- Robert P. Murphy (born 1976), American economist and author
- Robert S. Murphy (1861–1912), American politician, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 1907 to 1911
- Ryan Murphy, two people:
- Scott Murphy, three people:
- Sean Murphy, several people:
- Shaun Murphy, several people:
- Shawn Murphy (born 1951), Canadian Liberal politician
- Timothy Murphy, several people:
- Thomas Murphy (or Tom), several people
- Tom Murphy (athlete), American middle distance runner
- Troy Murphy, power forward for the Boston Celtics
- Turlach Murphy (born 1982), Irish gaelic gootballer, wing half back for Rostrevor GAC
- Vincent B. Murphy, NYS Comptroller 1925–1926
- Vincent J. Murphy, Mayor of Newark 1941–1949
- Wendell H. Murphy, North Carolina politician
- William Murphy, several people
- Yo Murphy, football player, CFL, NFL
Women
- Caitlin Murphy (born 1986), Australian actress
- Brittany Murphy (1977–2009), American actress
- Caitlin Murphy (born 1986), actress who plays the Yellow Overdrive Ranger in Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive
- Dervla Murphy (born 1931), travel writer
- Carolyn Murphy (born 1975), American model
- Donna Murphy (born 1958), American Tony Award winning actress
- Erin Murphy, several people:
- Kelly Murphy (born 1977), American author and illustrator
- Mary Murphy, several people:
- Róisín Murphy (born 1973), Irish electronica singer, songwriter, and producer
- Shaun Murphy (singer), aka Stoney, American singer
- Susan Murphy (businesses manager) aka Zsuzsanna, Earthfare manager
Fictional
- Alex James Murphy, the police officer who became RoboCop
- Alexis "Lex" Murphy, a character in Jurassic Park
- Bridey Murphy, historical character in a hypnotic regression case detailed in Bernstein's The Search for Bridey Murphy
- "Bleeding Gums" Murphy, a character on the cartoon television series The Simpsons
- Dr. Colin Murphy, character on the American soap opera Days of our Lives
- Sean Murphy, an Irish correctional officer in the HBO drama Oz
- Murphy, the eponymous protagonist in Samuel Beckett's first published novel
- Professor Michael Murphy, the protagonist in the Babylon Rising series by Dr Tim LaHaye
- Murphy MacManus, one of the two main characters from the movie The Boondock Saints
- Murphy, professional wrestler also known as Mikael Judas
- Randle Patrick McMurphy, one of the main characters in Ken Kesey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
See also
References
- ^ Brewer, Paul (2002). Ireland: History, People, Culture. Running Press. p. 351. ISBN 0-7624-1269-0.
- ^ MacLysaght, Edward (1991). The Surnames of Ireland. Irish Academic Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-7165-2366-6.
- ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 352, 406, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
- ^ Murphy - Surname Meaning and Definition. Irish-Genealogy.com
- ^ "Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000". Census.gov. http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/data/2000surnames/index.html. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
External links
- Murphys of Ireland website, featuring general information about the Murphy surname, including derivation and discussion of the major early Murchadha septs in Ireland.
- Official Home of the Murphy Clan, including a wealth of historical content about Ireland's Murphy Clan such as clan history, famous people, homelands, genealogy, discussion forums and blog articles.