Walsh Family Crest, Coat of Arms & Walsh Name Origin

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Origin of the Name Walsh

The origin of the name Walsh was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. The name Walsh is taken from the translation of the Gaelic word 'Breathnach', meaning 'Welsh'. Variants include Walshe, Brannagh, Brannick, Welsh, Walch, Welch, Walsman and Walshman. The Walshs descend from Philip the Welshman and his brother David who arrived into Ireland with the Anglo-Norman invasion in the year 1172. They established themselves as landed Gentry at Castlehowel, County Kilkenny, at Ballykileavan, County Leix, at Ballyrichmore, County Waterford and at Bray and Carrickmines near Dublin. The most important territory of the Walshs was in Wexford and in County Kilkenny where the Walsh mountains bear their name. This name was also adopted by a number of Gaelic septs, independently of each other, when they anglicized their native name after the sixteenth century.