Fitzgerald Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Fitzgerald Family History

Fitzgerald Family History

The family history of the ancient name Fitzgerald 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 Fitzgerald include Fitsgerald and Barron. Meaning 'son of the spear mighty', the Fitzgeralds of Ireland are descended from Maurice, son of Gerald, who accompanied Strongbow in the Anglo-Norman Invasion of 1170. They became a very powerful family with their leaders becoming Earls of Desmond. Garret Mor, eighth Earl of Kildare, was regarded as King of Ireland. They built many great castles, some of which are still standing today. In succeeding generations many who opposed English Rule were executed in the Tower of London. In literature a well known bearer of the name was Edward Fitzgerald, 1809-1883, author of the 'Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam'. The Fitzgeralds of County Waterford assumed the surname Barron.The Fitzgerald 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 Fitzgerald descendants.