This is an ancient and hounourable Irish surname. Recorded as Carmody and O'Carmody, although the latter form is now very rare, it derives from the pre 10th century Gaelic O' Cearmada, which translates as the descendant of the black hunting dog. Almost all Irish surnames originate from a nickname description of the first chief of the clan. Some of these are obviously related to "warrior like" activities, some are very personal descriptions such as "Black head" for Kennedy whilst "Wolf cub" for Cannon is not unlike Black hunting dog for this name. Quite why anybody should be so-called is a mystery, and without actually being present when this name was "given" a thousand or more years ago, any observations can only be subjective. In addition literal meanings and translations of words, have changed significantly over the millenium, making further explanations impossible. The original home of the surname was in the counties of Clare, Kerry and Limerick, and many members of the clan emigrated from Ireland to America at the time of the infamous Potato Famine of 1846 - 1848. Included in the recordings are those of Dennis Carmody who left for New York on the ship "Niagara", on June 9th 1846, and Michael Carody also bound for New York on the ship "Waterloo", on May 22nd 1847.