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Irish Septs & Families

Na Sleachta — the septs of Ireland
System: Septs under dynasties Surnames since: 10th century Great dynasties: O'Neill, O'Brien, O'Connor Prefixes: Ó = descendant, Mac = son

Ireland's families organised as septs — branches of great dynasties like the O'Neills and O'Briens. Your Irish surname has a story, a territory, and today a tartan: family setts for the great names, county tartans for every one of the 32 counties.

Find your family tartan Browse the 12 featured families

Is your surname an Irish one? Try O'Brien, O'Neill, O'Connor, Murphy, Kelly, Ryan, Walsh, Byrne — and 10 more on this page. See the family directory →

Irish septs at a glance

System Septs under dynasties
Surnames since 10th century
Great dynasties O'Neill, O'Brien, O'Connor
Prefixes Ó = descendant, Mac = son
County tartans All 32 counties
Open to all Irish Irish National tartan
County tartans, made to order 32
Irish surname histories 100+
How Irish septs worked

A sept was a branch of a dynasty — surname, territory, and allegiance in one

Gaelic Ireland was organised into septs: kin-groups descended from a common ancestor, each holding territory under the greater dynasties. The O'Neills of Ulster and the O'Briens of Thomond — descendants of the High King Brian Boru — stood at the top, with dozens of septs beneath and around them: MacMahons, O'Connors, O'Sullivans, Kavanaghs. The Ó ('descendant of') and Mac ('son of') prefixes literally encode this system into modern surnames.

Irish surnames are among the oldest hereditary surnames in Europe — in use by the 10th century, long before England adopted them. That's why an Irish name is such a precise key to origins: Murphys trace to Wexford and Armagh, Ryans to Tipperary, O'Connors to Connacht and Kerry, Kellys to several distinct septs each with its own home ground. Every surname page in this collection maps the name to its sept territory.

Tartan came to Ireland by a different road than Scotland — through the shared Gaelic world, the Ulster-Scots, and the modern registration of Irish family and county setts. Today there are registered tartans for major Irish names, a tartan for each of the 32 counties, and the Irish National tartan for anyone of Irish descent. Whatever your name, there is a correct sett for you — and we make all of them.

Family — Registered family setts

Major Irish names — O'Brien, O'Neill, Murphy, Fitzgerald and more — have tartans registered to the surname. If your name has one, it's the most personal choice, and every featured family page above links straight to it.

County — All 32 counties, one sett each

Know the county but not the sept? Every Irish county from Antrim to Wicklow has its own registered tartan, open to anyone born in, living in, or descended from that county. County tartans are the most popular Irish choice we make.

Nation — The Irish National tartan

Descended from Ireland but the paper trail stops at 'Irish'? The Irish National tartan — and the Ulster tartan for the north — belongs to the whole diaspora. No documentation required, just the heritage.

Sources: published clan and family histories, the Scottish Register of Tartans, and Scottish Kilt Shop’s heritage research files. Corrections welcome at our heritage desk.
Irish America

The septs across the water

Irish surnames are everywhere in the English-speaking world — carried by the Flight of the Earls in 1607, by centuries of emigration, and above all by the Famine exodus from 1845. Murphy, Kelly, Sullivan, Kennedy and Byrne are among the most common surnames in America, and every one of them traces to a sept and a county on this page.

Ireland’s tartan tradition gives the diaspora three routes to wear that heritage: a family tartan where one is recorded, the county tartan of the sept’s home ground, and the Irish National sett that belongs to everyone. Start with the surname — the county does the rest.

1014
Clontarf — Brian Boru’s victory
1607
The Flight of the Earls
1845
The Famine emigration begins
Trace it
Surname → sept → county

Irish surnames map cleanly to counties: Ryan to Tipperary, Byrne to Wicklow, McCarthy to Cork. The county tartan is always a legitimate choice.

Wear it
County & national setts

Custom-made kilts in county setts and the Irish National tartan — made to your measurements.

Dynasties and their septs

Featured Irish families

Twelve of the most searched Irish names. Each page covers the sept's dynasty, its home territory, and exactly which tartan its descendants can wear.

O'BrienLámh Láidir an Uachtar
Descendants of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland and victor of Clontarf, 1014. Thomond — Clare & Limerick.
O'NeillLámh Dearg Éirinn — the red hand
The royal dynasty of Ulster — the Red Hand — dominant for a thousand years. Ulster — Tyrone.
O'ConnorÓ Dhia Gach Aon Chabhair
The last High Kings of Ireland, royal house of Connacht. Connacht & Kerry.
MurphyFortis et Hospitalis
Ireland’s most common surname — the great sept of Wexford. Wexford & Armagh.
KellyTurris Fortis Mihi Deus
From Uí Maine in Galway and Roscommon — second only to Murphy in numbers. Uí Maine — Galway & Roscommon.
RyanMalo Mori Quam Foedari
The dominant name of Tipperary, from the sept of Ó Maoilriain. Tipperary.
WalshTransfixus Sed Non Mortuus
“The Welshman” — descendants of Cambro-Norman settlers, strongest in the south-east. Kilkenny & Mayo.
FitzgeraldCrom Abú
The mighty Geraldines — Norman-Irish earls of Kildare and Desmond. Kildare & Desmond.
O'SullivanLámh Foistenach Abú
The great sept of Cork and Kerry — Ó Súilleabháin. Cork & Kerry.
McCarthyForti et Fideli Nihil Difficile
The royal MacCarthaigh dynasty of Desmond, builders of Blarney Castle. Desmond — Cork.
ByrneCertavi et Vici
The Wicklow sept that resisted Dublin’s rule from the mountains for centuries. Wicklow.
KennedyAvise La Fin
Ó Cinnéide of Tipperary — the sept that gave America a president. Ormond — Tipperary.
Irish surnames and their septs Tap your name to trace its sept, its home county, and the tartan that fits it — family sett where one is registered, county sett where it isn't.
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Wear it home

Every piece is made to order in your measurements. Start from a sett below, or take any name on this page through the Tartan Finder.

Custom-made
Tartan Kilts
County & national setts, custom-made
By county
District Tartans
All-Ireland county setts
Historic
Great Kilt (Traditional)
The historic wrap style
Flagship
Traditional 9-Yard Kilt
Flagship · any of 5,000+ tartans
From name to sett

Which tartan should you wear?

Every history here links to a tartan

Family sett, county tartan, or Irish National — whichever level matches your roots, we make it into a kilt cut to your measurements, with matching accessories to complete the outfit.

All 32 Irish county tartans plus Irish National and Ulster setts, made to order.

Tartan Finder Match any surname to its sett Tartan Kilts County & national setts, custom-made District Tartans All 32 Irish county tartans Custom Weave Commission a family tartan
Every Irish name is a map. Wear where it points.

Trace your sept, find your county, choose your sett — family, county, or national — and we'll make the kilt to your measurements.

Start your kilt
Frequently asked

Irish septs & tartans — common questions

Is tartan actually Irish, or is this a Scottish thing?

Both traditions are real. Ireland and Gaelic Scotland shared one cultural world for centuries, and Irish tartans as registered setts are a modern tradition — exactly like most Scottish clan tartans, which were standardised in the 19th century. An Irish county or family tartan is a legitimate, registered sett.

What's the difference between a sept and a clan?

Same idea, different scale. A sept is a branch-family of a larger dynasty — the O'Sullivans were a sept of the Eóganachta, for example. In Scotland 'sept' came to mean an allied surname under a clan; in Ireland it describes the kin-branches the whole system was built from.

My surname has no registered Irish tartan. What do I wear?

Your county tartan. All 32 counties have one, each open to anyone with roots there. If you only know 'Irish', the Irish National tartan covers the entire diaspora — and the Ulster tartan covers the nine northern counties.

Are Irish kilts a real tradition?

The saffron kilt has been worn by Irish pipe bands and regiments since the early 20th century, and tartan kilts in county and family setts are now firmly established for weddings and heritage events. Our Irish kilts follow the same made-to-measure build as our Scottish range.

Do the O' and Mac prefixes change which tartan I can wear?

No. Kelly and O'Kelly, McCarthy and MacCarthy are the same sept — prefixes were dropped and restored over the centuries. Match on the root name and the home territory.

Can I order a custom kilt in my family's tartan?

Yes. Every kilt is made to order in your measurements, in any of our 5,000+ tartans — clan, district, county and national setts included. If your family sett isn't woven anywhere, our custom weave service can produce it.

What if my family has no tartan of its own?

You are never excluded from tartan. District and regional setts cover families without a clan tartan, national setts (Scottish, Irish, Welsh) belong to everyone of that heritage, and universal tartans such as Black Watch may be worn by anyone at all.

How does made-to-order work, and how fast is it?

You submit your measurements at checkout and each kilt is cut and hand-pleated to order. If you need it sooner, 700+ Quick Ship tartans deliver in 1–3 weeks.

Still tracing your line? Our heritage team answers lineage questions every day. Ask us about your surname →