Ancestors??

Question

My last name is Farrell and I'm curious to know about my background. Is the name "Farrell" Spanish, French, Irish, Greek?? What is it???

Answer 1

Farrell is very Irish. If you research your family back to the 1800s I'm sure you'll find the ancestor who came over from Ireland and will be able to pull the passenger manifest for the ship that brought him over. Once you have that you can start looking for other identifying information that will help you find the county and the town from which he came.

Answer 2

The origin of the surname Farrell is Irish; however, there is also a French origin of the name. Take a look at the following link.

http://www.houseofnames.com/coatofarms_details.asp?s=Farrell&sId=

Looking for the origin of a certain name is a common question here. And it's fine if that is all someone wants. But it does not tell you anything for certain. Here are a couple of links to surname message boards if you are interested. They do have a specific board for Farrell. Seeing as there is more than one origin for the name Farrell, your best bet would be to trace your own ancestry, person by person, generation by generation. These boards would be a great starting place. Many who frequent these boards are genealogists and may have some more insight into your specific surname. There are also separate boards for states, counties, and countries if you are interested.

http://genforum.genealogy.com/farrell/
http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.farrell/mb.ashx

If you wish to persue your specific surname further, E-mail me via my profile and I will give you some more free helpful genealogy sites. Blessings.

Answer 3

Hey Loving Pink Smiles,

Swyrich.com by James P. Wolf says Irish or French.

IRISH:

Spelling variations of this family name include: Ferrell, Farrell, O'Ferrall, O'Farrell, Farrelly, Fraleigh, Frawley, Frahill and many more.

First found in Waterford where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Bridget Ferrell who settled in the Barbados in 1680; Katherine Ferrell settled in Virginia in 1649; Alexander Farrell settled in Virginia in 1656; Atkinson, Barney, Bernard, Charles, Christopher, Daniel, Dennis, Edward, Eiden, Francis, George, Hamilton, Hugh, James, John, Laurence, Lawrence, Luke, Martin, Michael, Patrick, Peter, Richard, Robert, Thomas and William Farrell, all settled in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860. Martin and Michael Frawly arrived in Philadelphia in 1868 and 1874.

FRENCH:
Spelling variations of this family name include: Forel, Forelle, Forelles, Faurel, Faurelle, Faurelles, Forels, Faurels, de Forel, de Forelle, de Forelles, de Faurel, de Faurelle, de Faurelles, de Forels, de Faurels, Farrel and many more.

First found in Provence where this family were seated from very early times.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Dauberey Farrel, aged 25; settled in New York City in 1820; Michael Farrel settled in Pennsylvania in 1772; Alexander Farrell settled in Virginia in 1656.

Family Search by LDS has Farrell all over the Globe, so you have to look for the oldest dates there.
18. Agnes FARRELL - Ancestral File
Gender: F Birth/Christening: Abt 1677 , , Ireland

An interesting old entry in Family Search:
172. ANN FARRELL - International Genealogical Index / CX
Gender: Female Christening: 14 OCT 1694 Christ Church, Barbados, Caribbean

There were no French entries, but there never are in LDS, just not a sharing connection yet. So, French or Irish.

You should do your Family Tree to find out for sure. Check out the 4000+ messages at the GENFORUM, where you can talk to distant cousins.

Answer 4

Most likely Irish

Answer 5

its Irish.here are a few sights that might be helpful.http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/f
http:/www.lists.rootsweb.com/index/sername/
http://boards.rootsweb.com/surename.fin/
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin
this one is run by Mormons
http://www.familysearch.org/
www.usgen.web.org
good luck