Over 300 family names are found in Connemara. Surnames became officially required when governments began to introduce personal taxation. In England and Ireland this was introduced in Elizabethan times and was known as Poll Tax. Connemara family names come from many sources such as ancient Irish families, Vikings, Normans, Scots, Welsh, French and English origins. Conenmara family names generally have an an English and an Irish form. The word sept appears often in the notes on family names. This is an English word for a division of a family. Gallowglass families refers to mercenary soldiers of the Norse-Gaelic clans of Scotland between the mid 13th century and late 16th century. References to a Dalcassian family name indicate that the family name has its origins in the territory of the Kingdom of Thomond which contained County Clare and parts of Limerick, Offaly and Tipperary. Over 300 family names are found in Connemara.
