From Ó hAonghusa, ‘descendant of Aonghus’ — a Cork family whose name now travels the world on a bottle of cognac.
The Hennessy certificate.
Digital €19.99 · Printed €39.99 · Framed €89.99. 20% off at checkout.
Gaelic Origin · Root name Aonghus
Hennessy comes from Ó hAonghusa, built on the personal name Aonghus — from óen (‘one’) and gus (‘strength’ or ‘choice’), read together as roughly ‘chosen one’. The main sept held territory in County Cork, though the name is equally strong in Kilkenny and Wexford.
Richard Hennessy, born near Cork, left to fight in the Irish Brigade in France and stayed to found a cognac house in 1765 that still carries the family name on shelves worldwide — a Gaelic name that made its fortune in a French valley instead of an Irish one.
Irish form: Ó hAonghusa
