Where is O’Brien from?
Briain comes from the personal name brian, and denotes a descendant of brian boru, king of ireland in the 11th century. Brian boru was a member of the uí toirdealbhaigh sept, who were part of the dál gcais tribal grouping, and were based in the clare / limerick area. The boy’s name o’brien is an anglicized form of the irish surname ó briain and means “high” or “noble. The prefix ó means “descendant of” in irish, while briain is derived from the name brian. It has a significant historical and cultural background in ireland, where it’s one of the most common surnames.