Cavin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of Cavin

What does the name Cavin mean?

Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name Cavin is Caomhanach, an adjective denoting association with St. Caomhan. The first Kavanagh, Donal, the son of Dermot MacMurrough, was fostered by a successor of this saint.

Early Origins of the Cavin family

The surname Cavin was first found in County Carlow (Irish: Cheatharlach) a small landlocked area located in the province of Leinster in the South East of Ireland, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. The Kavanaghs (Cavanaghs) were descended from the MacMorough stem and were Lords of Leinster. Donoch McMorough was the King of Leinster, son of Dermod and it was from Donoch from which the Cavanaghs sprang. They were descended directly from the Heremon Line of Irish Kings. Donell, son of Dermot MacMurrough acquired the name Caomhanach, or Cavanagh. His sister Eva married Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, the leader of the English invasion of Ireland. 1

Early History of the Cavin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cavin research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1538, 1540, 1541, 1543, 1554, 1667, 1739 and 1889 are included under the topic Early Cavin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cavin Spelling Variations

A name was often recorded during the Middle Ages under several different spelling variations during the life of its bearer because literacy was rare there was no real push to clearly define any of the languages found in the British Isles at that time. Variations found of the name Cavin include Cavanagh, Kavanagh, Kavanah, Cavanaugh, Keevan, Cavanaw, Kavanaw, Cavenaugh, Cavanough, Cavaneagh, Cavana, Cavena, Cavinaugh, Kavina, Kavena, Kavanaugh, Cavanach, Kavanach, Cabenagh, O'Cavanagh, O'Kavanagh, Keaveney, Geaveney, M'Cavanna and many more.

Early Notables of the Cavin family

Cahir Mac Art Kavanagh, Lord of St. Molyns, Baron of Ballyann (d. 1554), the eldest son of Art Kavanagh of St. Molyns (Teach Molyns), and Chief of his Sept. He took part in the rebellion of the Leinster Geraldines, but submitted to Lord Leonard Grey in 1538. "He renewed his submission to Sir Anthony St. Leger in November 1540, and preferred a request to be allowed to hold his land in feudal tenure. He was anxious, he declared, to imitate his ancestor, Dermot Mac Murrough, king of Leinster, who had introduced the English into Ireland, and by adopting English customs to...
Another 141 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cavin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cavin Ranking

the United States, the name Cavin is the 9,462^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Cavin migration to the United States +

Ireland became inhospitable for many native Irish families in the 19th centuries. Poverty, lack of opportunities, high rents, and discrimination forced thousands to leave the island for North America. The largest exodus of Irish settlers occurred with the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. For these immigrants the journey to British North America and the United States was long and dangerous and many did not live to see the shores of those new lands. Those who did make it were essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest and most powerful nations of the world. These Irish immigrants were not only important for peopling the new settlements and cities, they also provided the manpower needed for the many industrial and agricultural projects so essential to these growing nations. Immigration and passenger lists have documented the arrival of various people bearing the name Cavin to North America:

Cavin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Cavin, who landed in New York, NY in 1862 3

Cavin migration to Australia +

Cavin Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Peter Cavin, Scottish convict who was convicted in Perth, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl Grey" on 4th October 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 4
William Cavin, aged 20, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Taymouth Castle" 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Cavin (post 1700) +

Robert Vernon "Bob" Cavin (b. 1940), American audio engineer who built the first monitor mixing console, the first multi-angle monitor loudspeaker, and the first integrated processing/amplifier package for a 3-way loudspeaker
Ruth Cavin (1918-2011), American book editor
Chantal Cavin (b. 1978), Swiss two-time gold, three-time silver medalist Paralympic swimmer
Cavin Yarbrough (1954-2025), American founding musician of Yarbrough and Peoples and songwriter of "Don't Stop the Music"

Sources +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-gray
South Australian Register Thursday 4th May 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Taymouth Castle 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/taymouthcastle1854.shtml