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Connor (Kah-ner), masculine, of Gaelic origin, meaning hound-lover, and originally bestowed on hunters who worked with dogs.

Connor is the Anglicized form of Conchobhar (Gaelic), a legendary King of Ulster who lived at about the time of Christ.

CONNOTATIONS

Irish - Much wanted, strong-willed

Scottish - (Gaelic) A strong will

English - Dog lover

ALTERNATE SPELLING

* Conor, Conchobar, Cnochur, Conner, Konner, Konnor

ABOUT SURNAMES AND PREFIXES

O'Connor is an excellent, and highly simplified, example of the use of surnames and prefixes in the Irish tradition. As we use Sr. and Jr. in the United States, generally men use the form, O' (grandson) and Mac (son) followed by the genitive case of a name, as in O'Connor or McCord. Thus, the O'Connor name must be included in any discussion of the name, Connor.

POPULARITY

Connor, Conner, and Conor are the most popular forms in the United States. It has increased from 575 in popularity in 1980 to 53 in 2006.

In Ireland and Scotland, Conner remains one of the most popular first names for boys. It is not so often used for girls.

CELEBRITY CHILDREN

* Conner - Son of Jean Smart and husband, Richard Gilliland, both stars of "Designing Women, television series.

* Connor - Son of Nicole Kidman, film star

* Connor - Son of Patrick Duffy, film star

* Connor - One of twin sons, Ali and Connor, of Ruth Pointer of the Pointer Sisters singers

* Connor Anthony, son of Tom Cruise.

NAMESAKES

* Thomas Power (T.P) O'Connor - Founded many newspapers in London, including The Star and The Sun. Among other works he authored, "Gladstone's House of Commons".

* Russell Connor - Art Historian and artist, one of the pioneers in the development of the Oxford English Dictionary

* Sandra Day O'Connor - Retired Supreme Court Justice

* Sinead O'Conner - Singer, new album "Theology", largely written by O'Conner, is based on passages from the Old Testament. There is stated a possibility this will renew her popularity in the United States.

* Frank O'Connor - Talk show host in Australia

* Flannery O'Connor - Author

* Roy or Roderick O'Connor (116(?)-1198) - Last high king of Ireland.

O'CONNOR ITEMS

* Ipath O'Connor Shoes, $79.95, zappos.com. Tested and recommended by Tim O'Connor, professional skater who regularly appears in BomMargera projects.

THE ALE CONNOR

* William Shakespeare's father was an Ale Connor.

* In the late 1300's, Richard II passed a law that all ale houses in the villages must display a sign so that the Ale Conner could easily identify them and carry out his inspections.

The Ale Connor would test the purity of the ale by pouring a small amount of ale on a bench and sitting on it. Poor quality ale was sugary and would glue the Ale Connor's leather breeches to the bench.

* Drinkers of poor quality ale were said to be "conned".

RESOURCES

britianusa.c om
beliefnet.com
YeahBaby.com

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