Are Kane and Keane, or Connor and O'Connor, treated as the same surname in the dataset?
The two pairs are handled differently, and the dataset follows Matheson's own practice. Kane and Keane are separate entries, because Matheson counted them separately. Both come from Ó Catháin and share a variant list, but their 1890 heartlands part company: Kane strongest in Derry and Antrim, Keane in Galway, Clare and the southwest. Merging them would blur that pattern. Connor and O'Connor are one entry. O'Connor, along with O'Conor and Connors, is held as a variant under Connor, in the same way that other prefix forms are combined in the county tables, Neill under O'Neill and Brien under O'Brien. Searching any of those spellings on the map leads to the Connor page.
Useful pages: The Irish surnames map · Trace your Irish roots · The 1926 Census guide · Coming home · Irish around the world · Plan your journey
Sources
- R. E. Matheson, Special Report on Surnames in Ireland; Patrick Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
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