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| Riley Coat of Arms |
All Irish surnames have a distinct meaning. The meaning behind the name Riley begins when the name originally appeared in Gaelic as O Raghailligh, which means descendant of Raghallach.
Spelling variations include: O'Reilly, O'Reilley, O'Reily, O'Rielly, O'Riely, O'Riley, O'Rilley and many more.
First found in county Cavan, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.
Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: the families who settled in Newfoundland - in St. John's, Tilton Harbour, Placientia, Tickle Bay, Tilt Cove, and many more, between 1805 and 1871; James O'Reiley settled in New York in 1823.
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