Kerry
/ˈkɛri/noun
A county in the southwest of Ireland, or a given name and surname derived from Irish place names.
Did you know?The county name Kerry comes from Irish Ciarraí, meaning the people of Ciar, with Ciar itself meaning “dark” or “black,” so the name preserves an old ancestral label rather than a mystical spell.
Etymological Timeline
Old Irish
Irish
Ciar
““dark, black””
Early Medieval Irish
Irish
Ciarraige
“the people of Ciar; an ancient tribal group”
Medieval Irish
Irish
Ciarraí
“the territory of the Ciarraige”
Middle English
English
Kery / Kerry
“an anglicized spelling of the Irish place-name”
Modern English
English
Kerry
“the county name, and later a surname or given name”