Lunney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The Irish surnames in use today are underpinned by a multitude of rich histories. The name Lunney originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Luinigh.

Early Origins of the Lunney family

The surname Lunney was first found in County Tyrone (Irish: Tír Eoghain), the ancient territory of the O'Neills, now in the Province of Ulster, central Northern Ireland, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Lunney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lunney research. Another 61 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lunney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lunney Spelling Variations

The search for the origins of the name Lunney family name revealed numerous spelling variations. These variants can be somewhat accounted for when it is realized that before widespread literacy people only recognized their name by pronunciation; it was up to scribes to decide how it was to be formally recorded. Variations found include Lunney, Lunnie, Looney, Loney, Lunny, O'Lunney and others.

Early Notables of the Lunney family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

Lunneys of Munterlooney

Lunney migration to the United States +

Ireland saw an enormous decrease in its population in the 19th century due to immigration and death. This pattern of immigration began slowly in the late 18th century and gradually grew throughout the early portion of the 19th century. However, a dramatic increase in the country's immigration numbers occurred when the Great Potato Famine struck in the 1840s. The early immigrants to North America were primarily destined to be farmers tending to their own plot of land, those that came later initially settled within pre-established urban centers. These urban immigrants provided the cheap labor that the fast developing United States and soon to be Canada required. Regardless of their new lifestyle in North America, the Irish immigrants to the United States and Canada made invaluable contributions to their newly adopted societies. An investigation of immigrant and passenger lists revealed many Lunneys:

Lunney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Bernard, Felix, George, James and William Lunney all, who arrived in Philadelphia between 1856 and 1875

Contemporary Notables of the name Lunney (post 1700) +

Barry Lunney Jr. (b. 1974), American football coach, offensive coordinator at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)
Bryan Lunney (b. 1966), American engineer and former NASA flight director, son of Glynn Lunney
Glynn Stephen Lunney (1936-2021), American NASA engineer and flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, manager of the Space Shuttle program, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Thomas J. Lunney, American Republican politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Bronx County 6th District, 1927, 1928
Robert Lunney, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Darlington Court House, South Carolina, 1873-79
John Lunney, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Darlington Court House, South Carolina, 1871-73, 1879-85
George Lunney, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Darlington Court House, South Carolina, 1869-71
Robert Lunney (b. 1962), American professional football player
James D. Lunney (b. 1951), Canadian politician, Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Alberni from 2000 to 2015

The Lunney Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Patriae infelici fidelis
Motto Translation: Faithful to an unhappy country.