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Gannon History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Gannon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Hundreds of years ago, the Gaelic name used by the Gannon family in Ireland was Mag Fhionnain, derived from the word "fionn," which means "fair."

Early Origins of the Gannon family

The surname Gannon was first found in County Mayo (Irish: Maigh Eo) located on the West coast of the Republic of Ireland in the province of Connacht, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Gannon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gannon research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1798 is included under the topic Early Gannon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gannon Spelling Variations

Those scribes in Ireland during the Middle Ages recorded names as they sounded. Consequently, in this era many people were recorded under different spellings each time their name was written down. Research on the Gannon family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Gannon, Ganon and others.

Early Notables of the Gannon family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

Nicholas Gannon, an Irish poet

Gannon Ranking

In the United States, the name Gannon is the 2,501^st most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 1

Gannon migration to the United States +

Thousands of Irish families left for North American shores in the 19th century. These people were searching for a life unencumbered with poverty, hunger, and racial discrimination. Many arrived to eventually find such conditions, but many others simply did not arrive: victims of the diseased, overcrowded ships in which they traveled to the New World. Those who lived to see North American shores were instrumental in the development of the growing nations of Canada and the United States. A thorough examination of passenger and immigration lists has disclosed evidence of many early immigrants of the name Gannon:

Gannon Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Gannon, who arrived in America in 1798 2

Gannon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William R Gannon, aged 29, who arrived in New York in 1812 2
Thomas Gannon, who landed in New York in 1837 2
Michael Gannon, who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1847 2
John Gannon, who arrived in Maryland in 1849 2
Rose Gannon, aged 17, who arrived in New York, NY in 1850 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gannon migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gannon Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Catherine Gannon, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1811
Ritchard Gannon, aged 30, who landed in Quebec in 1833
Mary Gannon, aged 4, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Elizabeth" from Galway, Ireland
Patrick Gannon, aged 17, who arrived in Quebec in 1834
Conner Gannon and Mary Gannon, who arrived in Canada in 1839
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gannon migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Gannon Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Patrick Gannon, (b. 1779), aged 22, Irish Labourer who was convicted in Meath, Ireland for life for being a Political prisoner and Captain of the Irish Rebels, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 29th November 1801, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1803 by hanging when he broke out of prision described in Escape from Castle Hill. 3
Eliza Gannon, aged 22, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Flora" 4

Gannon migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Gannon Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Martin Gannon, British settler as part of the 8th Detachment of the Royal New Zealand Fencibles travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Oriental Queen" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 18th September 1849 5
Miss Anne Gannon, (b. 1844), aged 26, British general servant travelling from London aboard the ship 'Merope' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 27th October 1870 6
John Gannon, aged 30, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Assaye" in 1874 6
Catherine Gannon, aged 19, a servant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Earl Granville" in 1880

Contemporary Notables of the name Gannon (post 1700) +

Jack Randle Gannon (1936-2022), American author and historian of Deaf culture
Philip Gannon (1923-2021), American educator, founder and president of Lansing Community College (1957–1989)
Bob Gannon (d. 2017), American businessman and politician, Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2014
Michael V. Gannon (1927-2017), American military historian, academic, and former priest
Terry Gannon (b. 1963), American sportscaster for ESPN on ABC and ESPN
Kelli Gannon (b. 1978), former field hockey midfield player from the United States
Rich Gannon (b. 1965), National Football League quarterback of the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII
John Mark Gannon (1877-1968), American clergyman, former archbishop of the Diocese of Erie, eponym of Gannon University
James Kimble "Kim" Gannon (1900-1974), American songwriter and lyricist
Frank S. Gannon, American Republican politician, Candidate for borough President of Richmond, New York, 1925 7
... (Another 19 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Gannon family +

Monongah Mine

Mr. Thos. Gannon (b. 1865), Slavic coal miner who was in mine 8 at the Monongah mine on 6th December 1907 when it exploded and collapsed; he died 8

Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie)

Matthew Kevin Gannon (1954-1988), American Foreign Service Officer from Los Angeles, California, America, who flew aboard the Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit, known as the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 and died 9

Citations +

"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 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
South Australian Register Monday 9th April 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Flora 1855. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/flora1855.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Monongah Mining Disaster retrieved on 8th August 2021. (Retrieved fromhttps://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/monongah.htm).
Pan Am Flight 103's victims: A list of those killed 25 years ago | syracuse.com. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/12/pan_am_flight_103s_victims_a_list_of_those_killed_25_years_ago.html