O'Dea

O'Dea
Language(s)English, from Irish
Origin
DerivationÓ Deághaidh
MeaningDescendant of Deághaidh (an Irish chieftain)
Region of originCounty Clare, Ireland

O'Dea (/ˈd/ oh-DEE; Irish: Ó Deághaidh, formerly Ua Deághaidh), is an Irish surname derived from Deághaidh, the name of a tenth-century clan chieftain. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Deas were one of the chiefly families of the Dal gCais or Dalcassians who were a tribe of the Erainn who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland between about 500 and 100 BC.