Ó hÁdhmaill

Ó hÁdhmaill is an ancient^[4] family name originating in Ireland, that is now rendered in many forms, and whose descendants in Ireland are found predominantly across the province of Ulster, and the County of Louth. The vast majority of the clan now use 'Hamill' as their surname.

In Irish if the second part of the surname begins with a vowel 'Á', the form Ó attaches a h to it. In this case Ádhmaill becomes Ó hÁdhmaill. The other forms effect no change: Ní Adhmaill, (Bean) Uí Adhmaill.^[5][6]

Motto and Coat of Arm

The motto is Esse Quam Videri, translated as To Be Rather Than To Seem.

The Coat of Arms is described as being; "A blue shield with two horizontal bars of ermine fur, representing the Girdle of Honour worn in ancient times by senior public officials. On top of the shield is the coronet, or crown of a duke. Atop the coronet is the figure of a leopard in profile, sitting with its face to the viewer's left."

• The Azure/Blue represents Strength, Loyalty and Truth
• The Ermine is associated with the robes and crowns of Royal and Noble Personages

History

The Clan moved from North Ulster with the Northern Ui Neill's, and settled in County Tyrone and County Armagh, South Ulster.

• Hereditary Chief or Clan chief; Ua hAghmaill (O'Hamill), Teallach Duibhbrailbe.
• Cinéal (Kinship); Cenél nEógain (Cinel Eoghain).
• Finte (Clans); Ua Brolaigh, herenaghs of Tech na Coimairce and Clongleigh.
• Branches;
  • Cenél mBinnig Glinne
  • Cenél mBindigh Locha Droichid (east of Magh Ith in Tirone)
  • Cenél mBindigh Tuaithe Rois (east of the Foyle) and one branch of the Ua Brolaigh.

Irish-English Hamill

Prior to the middle of the 20th century, Irish was usually written using the Gaelic typefaces, in this case the surname appeared as Ó hÁḋmaıll. The dot above the lenited letter (ḋ) was replaced by a following h in the standard Roman alphabet changing it to Ó hÁdhmaıll. Also the Irish language makes no graphemic distinction between dotted i and dotless ı so at the same time it changed to Ó hÁdhmaill.

As the dh is silent, the pronunciation is similar to spelling it as O'Hamill which is how it came to be spelt when it was phonetically anglicised,^[7] over time the spelling lost the O' and changed to Hamill,^[8] giving us the modern Irish-English spelling of Hamill.

Notable people include

• Giolla Criost Ó hAdhmaill, taoiseach of Clann Adhmaill^[9] who fought with the last King of Ulaid, Ruaidhrí Mac Duinnshléibhe against John de Courcy in 1177.
• Ruarcan O'Hamill, chief Poet to O'Hanlon^[10][11]
• Seán Ó hAdhmaill, Conradh na Gaeilge & Glór na nGael.
• Dr. Feilim O'Hadhmaill, Programme Director & Lecturer at University College Cork, in Applied Social Studies.^[12]
• Cormac Ó hAdhmaill, BBC TV Presenter^[13]
• Éamonn Ó hAdhmaill, TV Presenter^[14] and Editor^[15]

Notable people with Anglicised variants include

• Hamill Surname List
• Hammill Surname List

Places

• Hamill, South Dakota

Unrelated names - same spelling

There are several surnames that are spelt the same but are unrelated:^[16][17][18]

• Some Scottish Hamill's are of Norman origin and are named after a location; Haineville or Henneville in Manche, France. Which itself was named from the Germanic personal name Hagano and the Old French ville for ‘settlement’.
• The English Hamill's of Saxon origin are named after a nickname from Middle English, and the Old English "hamel".
• The English/Scottish Hamilton's are named after a location; the village of Hamilton, Leicestershire, England.

External links

• Finte na hÉireann (Clans of Ireland)

References