| Gaelic form | Pluncéad |
| Meaning | From a Norman place name — possibly from 'blanc' (white) or a Flemish origin |
| Origin type | Norman / Flemish — Old French Plunket or Plonquet |
| Primary county | County Meath / County Dublin |
| Variants | See below |
The Plunkett family came to Ireland with the Norman conquest, their name possibly deriving from a Norman place name or from the Flemish word for a type of fabric — the exact etymology is debated by scholars. What is certain is that the Plunketts settled in County Meath and became one of the most important Norman-Irish families in Leinster.
The Plunketts held several lordships in Meath, including Killeen, Dunsany, and Louth. Like the Nugents, Dillons, and Cusacks, they were "Old English" — Norman-Irish Catholic families who remained loyal to Rome through the Reformation and suffered accordingly under the Penal era that followed.
The family's most celebrated member is Oliver Plunkett (1625–1681), Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. Arrested during the hysteria of the "Popish Plot" manufactured by Titus Oates, Oliver Plunkett was the last person to be executed at Tyburn for the Catholic faith. He was beatified in 1920 and canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1975 — the first new Irish saint in almost seven hundred years. His preserved head is venerated at St Peter's Church in Drogheda, Co. Meath.
Beyond St Oliver, the Plunkett family produced notable figures across several centuries. Joseph Mary Plunkett (1887–1916) was a poet and one of the seven signatories of the 1916 Easter Rising Proclamation — executed in Kilmainham Gaol, he married his fiancée Grace Gifford in the jail chapel hours before his execution in a story that became one of the most romantic and tragic in modern Irish history.
The Earls of Fingall and Barons of Dunsany (still extant) represent the survival of the Plunkett gentry line. The current Lord Dunsany's ancestor Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (1878–1957), was a celebrated writer — author of The King of Elfland's Daughter and many other fantasy tales that influenced J.R.R. Tolkien.
The Plunkett name is less common in the broader Irish diaspora than many Gaelic surnames — it was primarily a gentry family, and gentry families emigrated in smaller numbers than tenant farmers. However, the upheavals of the 17th century (Cromwellian confiscations, Jacobite wars) sent Plunkett family members into European exile as "Wild Geese."
In the 19th century, the name spread through emigration to America and Australia. American Plunkett families are found in New York, Pennsylvania, and New England. The name is relatively uncommon compared to the great Gaelic surnames, which makes research somewhat easier — the documentary record is less crowded.
County Meath records include the Plunkett family papers held at the National Library of Ireland. Griffith's Valuation shows Plunkett families concentrated in east Meath and north Dublin. Access via askaboutireland.ie.
The estate papers of the Plunkett families of Killeen and Dunsany are significant genealogical resources for those tracing connections to these branches. The National Library of Ireland holds substantial material.
Civil records from 1864 are searchable at IrishGenealogy.ie. Catholic parish registers for the Diocese of Meath are available through RootsIreland.ie.
Love Ireland publishes every morning — essays about specific places, specific people, and specific moments in Irish history. The kind of history that connects Irish-Americans to the places their ancestors came from. 64,000 readers who take Ireland seriously.
Read Love Ireland — Free →One short email a day for a week — surnames, provinces, the Famine, genealogy tips, and the Ireland your ancestors left. No cost, unsubscribe anytime.
Your email is used only for this course and Love Ireland. Never sold.