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Moriarty
The origins and family history of the name Moriarty.
The name Moriarty is Irish in origin and is an anglisation of the old Irish name O'Muircheartaigh, itself from the Gaelic word for navigator, muircheartaigh. Burkes General Armory (1884 edition) describes the name as being that of "the sept of O'Muircheartaigh possessing the "flock abounding plains" of Aos Aisde, on the River Mang, co. Kerry".
A sept is akin to a clan and whilst the genealogical records of the sept are scant it is reasonable to assume that all those who possess the name Moriarty are descended from this sept.
The sept have for many centuries used the crest of an arm in armour embowed and holding in the hand a sword entwined with a serpent but it is unclear by what heraldic authority. Although members of the sept have over time registered their own arms and their details are shown above on www.myfamilysilver.com.
In the 20th century the name has been best known for being that of Arthur Conan Doyle's villain, James Moriarty, who famously fell to his death wrestling with Sherlock Holmes at the Reichenbach falls. The game "Are you there Moriarty?" has also been a popular game in army messes and country houses for many years and involves two blindfolded players lying on the floor and attempting to hit each other on the head with a rolled up newspaper. Whilst the name of this game is appropriate for a navigator I have been unable to find anything that can shed a light on its origins.
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