celticdude wrote:
I should have mentioned that both my Grandfathers came from Ireland. My Grandfather on my Mothers sides surname is Cellan and my surname is Sullivan which would have been O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan I believe translates out to son of one eyed. My brother has done research on our family. I am hoping he will be able to help me in
finding our county of origin in Ireland. My wife and I (mo anam cara) are both interested in this study!
According to MacLysaght’s
Surnames of Ireland, the
Ó Súileabháin family originated in Tipperary, but they were pushed west during the Norman era, to Cork and Kerry, where they are numerous on both sides of the border between those counties, at the southwestern end of the island. MacLysaght says that it is clear that the first part of the name comes from
súil ("eye"), but that there is disagreement as to the meaning of the latter part of the name.
By the way, the term you used should be
m'anamchara, and some people feel that it is an inappropriate way to say "my soul mate" (I'm guessing that's what you meant), and instead refers more properly to one's spiritual adviser (that's how the main FGB dictionary defines it). Others disagree with that position, at least in modern Irish, and you will see
anamchara used for "soul mate" at times. There have been some lively debates on this and another forum about the usage of the term.