Curry (surname)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the surname Curry. For other uses, see Curry (disambiguation).

Curry
Family Name
Region of origin British Isles
Related names Currey
Currie
MacVurich
Popularity Behind the Name 
Wikipedia articles All pages beginning with Curry

Curry is a common surname throughout Ireland and Scotland. There are also three places in Cornwall bearing the name Curry, or a similar spelling of it.

Contents

[edit] Forms of the name

The anglicised Irish name is rightfully O'Curry. In the native language it is Ó Comhraidhe - the "h" aspirates the preceding consonant, so the anglicised form is not far from the pronunciation in Irish. It sometimes takes the form Corry or Corra, especially in the northern counties, where in the few early records in which the name is found the prefix ‘Mac’ is usually substituted for ‘O’. Corry, however, may also have other origins which will be mentioned later.

In Scotland the surname was originally Gaelic MacMhuirich however with the Highland clearances, many Gaelic names were Anglicized so the surname's took the form of something that sounded similar. MacMhuirich took variations such as MacVurich, Currie, Curry and Currey.

[edit] Origins

The most numerous and well-known sept of Ó Comhraidhe is that of Thomond with their centre in County Clare. There was a little known sept of O'Curry in the barony of Kerricurrehy in Cork, where the name is now often found as Corry. This Cork sept may have been a branch of the main Thomond sept. They are recorded as a sept of Corca Laoighe and the name is found also in Kerry, presumably as a result of migration. In addition to the main sept of Ó Comhraidhe another of the same name was located in County Westmeath, where they were Chiefs of Moygoish. Curristown], to which they gave their name, (now known as Belmont) is testimony to their power and significance in that area.

In Ulster, many of the name Curry are of Scottish ancestry. There is a rule of thumb that says Currie is Scottish while Curry is Irish in origin, but the spellings have be so interchanged that the rule counts for little. In Scotland Currie can be a variant of Corrie but more usually it is from MacVurich, Gaelic MacMhuirich, 'son of Murdoch', a name of two distinct origins. The MacVurich sept were hereditary bards to MacDonald of Clanranald and claim descent from the thirteenth-century Irish poet Muireach Alhanach.

In mid-nineteenth-century Antrim the main concentration of the name was found to he to the north of Ballymoney in the barony of Carey. In a final twist to the history of the name in Scotland, many Curries of Arran, Kintyre and the Isles were originally MacCurdys

The name Corry is usually Ó Corraidh (or Ó Corra) and in modern times is often abbreviated to Corr. However, when found in Clare, it is probably a variant form of Ó Comhraidhe - O'Curry and as we have seen already, Corry is a known variant of Curry in Cork.

In Ulster, the names Corr, Corry and Curry are numerous. There they can be of more than one origin. The majority no doubt are Ó Corra, descended from the sept of that name located in the Tyrone-Fermanagh country and numerous in central Ulster in the seventeenth century as the Hearth Money Rolls show.

Many of the Corrs of Tyrone and Londonderry are, however, descended from the Gilla Corr, mentioned in the Annals of Ulster (1186), whose son is perpetuated in the townland of Ballykilcurr, near Maghera. One of the anglicised forms of Mac Gothraidh - a branch of the MacGuires of Fermanagh, and most usually found as McCaffrey - is MacCorry, often without the prefix Mac; others are MacCorry and Godfrey. Mac Corra, too, has been noted in Ulster but this is possibly a modem form of Mac Gothraidh. Both O'Cor and MacCor occur in the Armagh Hearth Money Rolls, O'Cor being the more numerous there.

The prevalence of the name Corry in Counties Waterford and south Tipperary in the seventeenth century might suggest that some of the O'Currys of Thomond migrated but this theory is not borne out by numerous mediaeval records which show that people called Cor and Corre were established in Counties Tipperary and Kilkenny as early as 1270 (Richard Corre was Bishop of Lismore from 1279 to 1308): this may well be an unidentified Norman name unrelated to Curry, for migration from Thomond to Ormond was unusual, though not unknown, before the fourteenth century. However in the mid 17th century at the time of Oliver Cromwell's campaign in Ireland, one of the major landowners in south Tipperary (Clonmel) was a John Corr of Toberhanny. He is said to be descended from a Norman family Corre, that came to Ireland in 1171 at Crooke, Co. Waterford with King Henry II of England, alongside Theobald FitzWalter, later to become Butler, Earl of Ormonde. In 1650 John Corr and 141 retainers were given the option 'To Hell or to Connaught', In other words, either be transplanted to Connaught or face death and eternity in hell. It is said that John Corr was a close ally of the Butler's of Ormonde. When he was dispossessed of his lands he sought refuge with the Ormondes. When Ormonde regained control of his lands he rewarded John Corr with grants of land for his allegiance. Instead of lands at Toberhanny, he was given land at Cuffesgrange, Co. Kilkenny. (previously known as Comerford's Grange). The family remain here to this day. This family is the same family of Frank J. Corr who became mayor of Chicago.

African-Americans and some Black people in the Caribbean also have the name Curry. This is for various reasons one of which is personal relationships between Irish sailors/Captains, and Native/African women in America and/or the Caribbean. To date, the two ethnic groups (Irish Currys and African American/Caribbean Currys) have not unified nor has there been much intellectual discussion about the matter.

[edit] Cooking

All people named curry must open food chains involving the spicy dish and give their curly haired business partners a lot of money.

[edit] People with surname Curry

Curry was the 313th most common surname in the U.S. (according to the 1990 census).

  • Andrew Currey, Australian javelin thrower who competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics (1996 and 2000), and won a total number of nine Australian titles in the event.
  • Bruce Curry is a former professional boxer who was world Jr. Welterweight champion from 1983 to 1984.
  • Denise Curry is a retired American professional basketball player and coach.
  • Earl Curry (1890-1980) was a Latter Day Saint theologian and Bishop's Agent, spending nearly 30 years working on and repairing the historic Kirtland Temple in Ohio.
  • Eugene O'Curry (circa 1794-1862) was an Irish scholar and translator from County Clare, who had an important influence on the revival of the Irish language during his lifetime. It is in Counties Clare and Westmeath that the majority of descendants can still be found.
  • Dr. John Curry (1710-1780) of Dublin was notable as an eminent physician, as a historian and as the organizer of the first Catholic Committee during the Penal Code period. He was descended from the O'Corra family of Cavan, who lost their estates in 1641-1691. Two of his sons were officers in the Austrian service.
  • John Curry is an American ice hockey goaltender.
  • Martin Corry is a captain of the England Rugby Union team.
  • Paul Curry was the vice-president of the Blue Cross Insurance Company of New York, and a famous amateur magician who became well-known in the magic community for inventing highly-original card magic.
  • William Matthew Currey VC (1895-1948) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

[edit] Fictional characters

  • Arthur Curry, secret identity of DC Comic character Aquaman

[edit] See also

[edit] References