This most interesting surname, found in Ireland and Scotland, is of Old Gaelic origin, and is the Anglicized form of the Gaelic personal name "Murchadh", composed of the elements "muir", sea, and "-cadh", a warrior. It may also be found with the Gaelic prefix "Mac", meaning "son of". The name is also Anglicized as MacMurrough, Murrough, Morrough, MacMorrow, Morrow, MacMurry and MacMorry in the modern idiom. MacMurrough is the name of the Royal House of Leinster. The first recorded namebearer (see below) sought help from Henry 11 in his struggles with other Irish chieftains, and thus was the immediate cause of the Anglo-Norman Invasion. His descendant, Art MacMurrough (1357 - 1417) did much to redeem the family name as a result of his continuous and successful resistance to English aggression. The name was probably introduced into Britain by Irish immigrants leaving Ireland as a result of famine or in search of work. Frank Murrow, aged 21 yrs., was a famine immigrant who left Liverpool for New York aboard the "Waterloo" on February 15th 1847. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Dermot MacMurrough, king of Leinster, which was dated 1110, the year of his birth (died 1171), in "Medieval Irish Records", during the reign of Turlough Mor O'Conor, High King of Ireland, 1119 - 1156. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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