O'Brien
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
O'Brien is a common surname of Irish origin.
The name is Gaelic, and its original language version is Ua Briain or Ó Briain (pronounced: Ew-Breen/Oh-Breen), meaning 'descendant of Brian'. It carries the sense ‘eminence’, i.e. ‘exalted one’. The Brian referred to is in most cases the ancient Irish king Brian Boru, or in Gaeilge - Brian Bórumha mac Cennétig.
This O'Brien family ruled over Munster after Brian Boru's death, and later supplied the rulers of Thomond until the area became incorporated into the English holdings in Ireland in the Tudor period (but see the de Clare family).
The O'Brien rulers were then given the titles of Earl of Thomond and Baron Inchiquin, the latter of which survives today and is held by the descendants of the ancient rulers.
Two mottoes have been associated with the O'Brien clan: firstly, Vigueur de dessus: 'Strength from above' and secondly, 'Lamh laidir an uachtar' 'The strongest arm uppermost' [1].
Other variants of this surname are O'Bryan, O'Brian, O'Breen', Breen, Bryant ("T" for Thomond) and many more.
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[edit] Places named O'Brien
- O'Brien, Oregon, United States
- O'Brien County, Iowa, United States
- O'Brien, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- O'Briens Hill, Queensland, Australia
- O'Briengasse, Vienna, Austria
[edit] People named O'Brien
- Aidan O'Brien, Irish race horse trainer
- Alex O'Brien, a professional American tennis player
- Andrew O'Brien, an Irish association football player
- Billy O'Brien (1860-1911), American baseball player
- Bronterre O'Brien, (1805-1864), British Chartist
- Cathy O'Brien, purported American child-slave/sex-abuse victim
- Conan O'Brien, (born 1963), US comedian and talk show host
- Dave O'Brien, television announcer of the Boston Red Sox
- Dermod O'Brien (1865-1906), Irish painter
- Ed O'Brien, (born 1968), English musician, guitarist for Radiohead
- Edna O'Brien, novelist, member of Aosdána
- Edwin Frederick O'Brien, Archbishop of Baltimore
- Erin Joanne O'Brien, American actress born in 1935
- Erin O'Brien (writer), American writer
- Eugene O'Brien, actor of the silent film era (born Louis O'Brien)
- Fergal O'Brien, Irish professional snooker player
- Flann O'Brien, At Swim-Two-Birds
- George O'Brien (Actor) (1899-1985) the American silent movie actor.
- George O'Brien (cricketer) (born 1984) the Bermudian cricketer
- George O'Brien (footballer) the former Southampton F.C. footballer
- George O'Brien (painter) (1821-1888), the New Zealand painter
- George Thomas Michael O'Brien former governor of Fiji
- George H. O'Brien, Jr (1926-2005) Korean War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient.
- George Miller O'Brien (1917-1986) Member, U.S. House of Representatives (from Illinois), 1973-1986.
- George Morgan O'Brien (1828-1887) Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General
- James O'Brien, see separate disambiguation page
- Jim O'Brien, professional basketball coach
- John O'Brien (soccer), American soccer player
- John O'Brien (marine artist) (1831-1891) Canadian painter
- John P. O'Brien, Mayor of New York City
- Justin O'Brien, Writer
- Kate O'Brien, British fashion & television make-up artist
- Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien, current Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh
- Kerry O'Brien, Australian ABC Television Current Affairs Presenter
- Kerry O'Brien, Australian middle-distance runner
- Kerry O'Brien (politician), Australian Senator
- Larry O'Brien, political and basketball figure
- Larry O'Brien (Canadian politician), Canadian entrepreneur and politician; Mayor of Ottawa, late 2006 to present
- Mark O'Brien (Ontario politician), Green Party candidate in the 2004 Canadian federal election
- Marty O'Brien, American guitarist in 3-Faced
- Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien, English pop singer.
- Maura O'Brien, American singer and yodeling champion in the O'Brien Family Band.
- Michael O'Brien (swimmer) (born 1965), American freestyle swimmer
- Mick O'Brien (musician), Traditional Irish Musician
- Miles O'Brien (journalist), journalist and CNN anchor
- Pat O'Brien (actor), American movie actor
- Patrick O'Brien, musician-lutenist
- Richard O'Brien, (born 1942), Rocky Horror Show and Rocky Horror Picture Show writer and actor
- Richard Baptist O’Brien, (1809-1885), Irish priest, author and nationalist
- Robert O'Brien, American racing driver
- Robert C. O'Brien, author of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
- Shauna O'Brien American erotic film star.
- Soledad O'Brien American Television journalist, currently host of CNN's American Morning
- Stephen O'Brien UK conservative politician for Eddisbury
- Stuart O'Brien Lead guitarist of rock band Amnezia
- Terence Albert O'Brien (1600-1651), beatified Irish bishop
- Terry O'Brien squadron leader with Orde Wingate's Chindits who flew deep behind Japanese lines and later wrote a trilogy of war's flying: Out of the Blue (1984), The Moonlight War (1987), and Chasing After Danger (1992).
- Tim O'Brien (author), (born 1946), American author
- Tim O'Brien (musician), (born 1954) American musician
- Vincent O'Brien, Irish race horse trainer
[edit] Fictional people named O'Brien
- O'Brien (1984), a character in Nineteen Eighty-Four
- Keiko O'Brien, fictional character, wife of Miles O'Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine
- Lady Cassandra O'Brien, fictional character, Doctor Who villainess
- Miles O'Brien (Star Trek), fictional character in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine
[edit] Ships named O'Brien
[edit] Other
- Potatoes O'Brien is a potato dish made from potatoes, onions and bell peppers. [2]
[edit] See also
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