Irish Surname - Doherty
The names Doherty and Dougherty in Ireland are derived from the Irish word "dochartach" meaning obstructive or hurtful. Descendants of the O'Dochartaighs now rank among the twenty most frequently found names in Ireland.
In the 4th century the O'Dochartaigh sept settled around the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal, where they have primarily stayed. The surname is also common in Derry.
The original homeland of the O'Dochartaighs was in the barony of Raphoe in Donegal and they were of the same stock as the illustrious O'Donnells of Tirconnell (Donegal), one of the most famous septs in Irish history. They remained powerful chiefs in the area for five hundred years, until the defeat and execution of Sir Cahir O'Doherty at the start of the 17th century. The power of the O'Dohertys was greatly reduced following this defeat and several of the sept fled to Scotland, the Isle of Man and England where the name was variously Anglicised as Do(u)gherty, Daugherty, Docherty and Docharty.
Alternate Surname Spellings
Dougherty, Daugherty, Dogherty, Dogharty, O'Doherty, O'Dochartaigh
Note
We have researched many sources for the origins of Irish surnames and extracted a fair representation of the origins of each. As there are many variations we have compiled a representative, but by no means exhaustive, selection.
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