Show ContentsGlenna Surname History

Glenna is a Dalriadan-Scottish name, no doubt originally for a person who lived in Gleney, or Glennie, in Braemar, Aberdeenshire. Glennie is a surname from the region around Aberdeen, and it was originally born by generations of tenant farmers in the districts of both Dee and Don. The surname Glennie, which was originally derived from Gaelic "gleann" which means "valley", was also given to someone who resided near a valley.

Early Origins of the Glenna family

The surname Glenna was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Glenna family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Glenna research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Glenna History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Glenna Spelling Variations

Spelling variations were extremely common in medieval names, since scribes from that era recorded names according to sound rather than a standard set of rules. Glenna has appeared in various documents spelled Glennie, Gleny, Glen, Glenney, Glenning, Glenny and many more.

Early Notables of the Glenna family

More information is included under the topic Early Glenna Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Glenna family to Ireland

Some of the Glenna family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Glenna family

Many who arrived from Scotland settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would go on to become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. In the American War of Independence, many settlers who remained loyal to England went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Their descendants later began to recover the lost Scottish heritage through events such as the highland games that dot North America in the summer months. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Glenna family emigrate to North America: John Glenney who settled in Philadelphia in 1856; followed by Michael and Robert; Bridget, Mary, and Patrick Glenning arrived in New York in 1804; Alexander Glenny arrived in Philadelphia in 1876.


Contemporary Notables of the name Glenna (post 1700) +

  • Glenna Maxey Goodacre (1939-2020), American sculptor, best known for having designed the obverse of the Sacagawea dollar and the Vietnam Women's Memorial, mother of 1980s supermodel Jill Goodacre
  • Glenna Sue Kidd (1933-2017), American pitcher and infielder who played from 1950 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
  • Glenna Fletcher, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Kentucky, 2004 1
  • Glenna Hansen (b. 1956), Canadian Inuvialuit politician


  1. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, September 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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