Ahern Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Ahern Family History

Ahern Family History

The ancient origin of the name Ahern was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Ahern include Aherne, Hearne and O'Heffron. These families were originally a Dalcassian Sept and up to the middle of the fourteenth century they were dynasts of Ui Cearnaigh, their territory being in the neighbourhood of Sixmile Bridge, County Clare, not far from the city of Limerick. In the course of time they migrated Southwards and in 1659, when the Petty Census was taken, the name was numerous throughout Counties Cork and Waterford. At the present time Ahern is confined to Counties Cork and Limerick. A most noteworthy bearer of the name in modern history was John Aherne, 1796-1806, United Irishman and a friend of Wolfe Tone.The Ahern family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Ahern descendants.