Why Do So Many Americans Who Claim To Be Irish Yet Have Non Irish Sounding Last Names ?

I know many people who claim to be Irish Americans, yet they have very WASP sounding last names like Anderson or Smith for example. Last names like that do not sound very Irish to me, which is why I question their so-called "Irishness".|||Shaquille O'Neal is Irish.





He is one of the many rare Black Irish. Bernie Mac is too.|||That's goes for every nationalities. Maybe is the mother who was irish and they carry the father's name. That's why in Spanish country is mandatory to carry both names, the father and there mother. After so many generation the name will vanish eventually.|||in the beginning of american history, most of the immigrants came from ireland after the potato famine. i would say that many american people have irish blood in them. it doesn't mean that they are pure irish, they're most likely mixed with something else.|||Many immigrants changed or were forced to change their last names when they came to America. They could also have Irish ancestors but have the last name of an English ancestor.|||If they are part irish they don't have to have an irish name.|||i have english and irish ancestors