Is it possible to be of irish descent and have a very french last name?

Question

My last name is probably the most french name you will ever hear in your life. I am not going to say it here, but I know it is french.

The only problem with my french name is that, my dad, grand-father and great grand-father always said we were of irish descent.

My dad told me a tale about, how my great grand-father had to be chained to a tree once, because he was very mad and were in such a rage.. that no one could calm him down, and that he was like that because he was irish. And it's something both my great grand-father, and my grand-father said. That they were of irish descent.

We do not have paper or genealogy that can go that far and verify this, and the internet searches I did never really gave an answer to this.

What do you think?

Answer 1

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind... is this the one?

I agree that it could be a french surname from Ireland and that

Irish records are difficult because many are missing.

There are some ways of getting information that haven't been mentioned yet though

Passenger lists.

Griffiths valuation.

GOONs

Answer 2

Anything is possible because of travel.  My great uncle on my mother's side was from Croatia, with a very Eastern European last name, but he settled in Brazil and raised a family there.  His ancestors apparently migrated to Argentina, and now there are a bunch of Spanish-speaking Stipcics living on rancheros.

Answer 3

It's very possible. There are several well known Irish surnames that are actually of French origin. Those names have been present in Ireland for centuries thanks to the Normans who spread from England to Ireland during the twelfth century.

Answer 4

The French speaking Normans invaded England then some crossed the Irish sea and invaded Ireland.  By law, they were forbidden to speak the Irish language or adopt Irish customs or dress.  However, it is said they became more Irish than the Irish themselves.  They assimilated with the native Irish.  Later invasions from England, like the Cromwellian invasion or the settlement of Scots in Ulster did not have the same assimilation due to religious differences.

Answer 5

I've got a French ancestor who escaped to Ireland during the French Revolution to save his head.

A lot of French troops also were sent to Ireland by James II (1689) in an unsuccessful attempt to regain his crown from William, and no doubt some of them met local girls and decided to stay.

There have been plenty of opportunities for the French to get involved with Ireland. Both were historically Catholic, and both were usually allied against England.  Chances are that you are largely of Irish descent, with French mixed in somewhere along the line.

Many Irish civil records were destroyed, however, many church records remain. I'd trace it that way if you can get some location information.

Happy hunting.

Answer 6

Not all Irish are bad tempered.

Not all Italians are excitable.

Not all Scots are stingy.

Not all French are gourmets.

Not all Mexicans are lazy.

Not all Orientals are inscrutable.

In each case some are, some aren't.

If you post your great grandfather's name, his wife's maiden name and his birth year, someone may be able to find him and his birth place for you. If not, we're just guessing.

It is physically possible to have a Chinese / Zulu / French / German surname and be 15/16ths Swedish; your gg GF is Chinese / Zulu / French / German, marries a Swede, his son (who is half Swedish) does likewise, his grandson (who is 3/4th Swedish) does likewise, . . .

Answer 7

no. impossible.

Answer 8

it is almost a certainty. i have both irish and french in my bloodline.

Answer 9

Ten generations ago you had over 1000 grandparents, and 20 generations ago over 1 Million grandparents.  They weren't all Irish, nor were they all anything.

Your last name is one thing.

Where your family lived/learned/gave birth is another.

The ethnic community they were a part of is still another.

Virtually any combination is possible

Answer 10

It is very possible.

Many  original settlers in Ireland came from the French Province of Brittany.

Answer 11

You name is completely separate from your ancestry.  Think.. 2 parents, both equally ancestors.. 2 names.  4 grandparents (8 gr grandparents), all have unique birth names, all different. 7 of those gr grandparents can be Irish, but the 8th one is the one you get the name from.

Don't research a name.  Research PERSONS.

You have no reason to be concerned about posting a name of someone who is not living.  I can tell you my gr grandmother was Martha Smith.. there is no way you can connect that to me, unless I give you my parents, grandparents and their details.

Next.. educate yourself on the basic of research, which is only concern yourself with documentable facts. In genealogy, if it isn't documented, it is not a 'fact', it is family tradition. You'll be stunned to find how many traditions wind up being inaccurate.

As for not having 'paper' to verify this.. you are starting out exactly the same as any of the rest of us.  What you find/ don't find is hard to determine, since none of us know what you used to search.  Keep an open mind.. it may be that you simply don't have the experience to know what records are needed, or where they can (can't) be found.

Answer 12

I've been doing French genealogy for decades. They were among the first in Europe to adopt surnames and pass them along fairly intact to their children. They also traveled back and forth across the English Channel with ease. As other mentioned, the Norman Conquest left all of the British Isles under the control of men with very French names. But within a generation or two, the French language was gone from their tongues and they spoke the native languages with ease.

If your family says you're French, I am also betting someone already did some research on that line. The place to start is on GenForum at Genealogy.com and see what others researching your line have already uncovered. You might be surprised. http://genforum.genealogy.com/richard/ This is an example of a family board and once you get in there, you can switch around names and locations and learn so much about everyone else's research so that you can find a starting place for your own line.