Brophy

Brophy is an Irish surname of ancient origin, derived from the Irish "Uí Bhróithe" or "Ó Bróithe" septs that were located mostly around Ballybrophy, Laois, and in counties Carlow and Kilkenny. The family was first mentioned in the late 11th century, but as a member of the Dál Birn dynasty, its semi-legendary genealogy stretches back to AD 200 according to the Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson B 502. The ancestral seat of the family chief became Ballybrophy (historically Ballybrohy, from Irish:Baile Uí Bhróithe, meaning "townland of Ó Bróithe") after the Norman Invasion of Ireland in the 12th century.