Where the Hunt name comes from

Hunt began in England as an occupational surname for someone who hunted game and birds. The name also took root in Ireland, where it comes from the family name Ó Fiachna. That older name rests on fiach, meaning "the chase", so the Irish line also points to hunting by a separate route. The Ó Fiachna clan belonged to the Síol Muireadaigh of the Connachta, kin to the Ó Conchubhair and Mac Diarmada. Its lands lay in County Roscommon and County Sligo.

In Estonia, Hunt is a common surname with a different meaning altogether: it is the Estonian word for wolf. In rare cases the surname has also passed into use as a given name.