Enright
An Irish surname, often treated as a phonetic or Anglicized form of an older Irish name rather than a literal English -wright compound.
The #4,951 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 43,436 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Enright is an Irish surname that was later written in English spelling. Historical sources place it among Irish names and give related forms such as MacEnright, Enraght, and Inright, showing that the modern spelling is an Anglicized outcome rather than an original English occupational name. Some older writers guessed at a connection with English -wright, but the surname is generally understood as Irish in origin.
History
The name is recorded in Ireland and later appears frequently in Britain and the United States. Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century surname books list Enright alongside related Irish forms, especially MacEnright. In modern usage it is strongly associated with Irish ancestry and is well established in English-speaking countries through migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname scholars explicitly noted that Enright only looks like an English -wright name; the resemblance is misleading.
From the historical record
“Ennever. — Bapt ; v. Enefer. Enright.— t An Irish surname found frequently in the United States. It is placed here as the second syllable looks like the English suffix -wright, as in”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)Notable people named Enright
- Anne Enright (b. 1962)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.