Toohey Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Toohey Family History

Toohey Family History

The Toohey ancient family history 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 Toohey include Towey, O'Tuohy, Tuohey, Twohig, O'Towey, Tuohy, Tuffy, Tookey and Tuthill. This name is derived from the Gaelic O'Tuathaigh sept who were originally located at Aughrim in County Galway and later in County Clare. This sept name is taken from the word 'tuathach' meaning 'ruler'.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

Although most associated with the Galway region the name is found in the 'Hearth Money Rolls' of County Tipperary in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The variant form of the name Twohig is most associated with County Cork. The variant Tuohy is found in County Roscommon where families of the name settled in the parishes of Moygawnagh and Kilfian.The Toohey 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 Toohey descendants.