From Ó Meachair, ‘hospitable, kindly one’ — chiefs of Ikerrin, in County Tipperary, since the early medieval period.
Gaelic Origin · Root meaning ‘hospitable, kindly’
Maher (also spelled Meagher) comes from meachair, ‘hospitable’ or ‘kindly’ — an unusually gentle root for a ruling family's name. The Ó Meachair were chiefs of Ikerrin, a territory in northern Tipperary, holding that ground under their own lords well into the medieval period.
A name that led with kindness rather than conquest — and still ruled a barony of Tipperary for centuries regardless.
Irish form: Ó Meachair
