Meyn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The surname Meyn originally appeared in Gaelic as "O Miadhachain," which is derived from the word miadhach, meaning honorable. 1

Early Origins of the Meyn family

The surname Meyn was first found in County Leitrim (Irish: Liatroim) anciently the western half of the kingdom of Breifne, located in Northeastern Ireland, in Leinster province, Originally, "Ó Miadhacháin, this is the name of at least two distinct septs; it is now equally distributed throughout the four provinces." 2

Early History of the Meyn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Meyn research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Meyn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Meyn Spelling Variations

People who were accounted for by scribes and church officials often had their name recorded many different ways because pronunciation was the only guide those scribes and church officials had to go by. This resulted in the problem of one person's name being recorded under several different variations, creating the illusion of more than one person. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Meyn that are preserved in archival documents are Meighan, Meehan, Meegin, Meeghen, Meegan, Meakin, Meakins, Mekins, Mehan, Mehen, Mehigan, Mehegan, O'Meighan, O'Meehan and many more.

Early Notables of the Meyn family

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

Meyn 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 Meyn to North America:

Meyn Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

George Meyn, who landed in America in 1777-1783 3

Meyn migration to Australia +

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

Meyn Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Meyn, (b. 1816), aged 22, Cornish tailor, from St. Neot, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Upton Castle" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 24th February 1838 4
Mrs. Elizabeth Meyn, (b. 1815), aged 22, Cornish dressmaker, from Port Isaac, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Upton Castle" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 24th February 1838 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Meyn (post 1700) +

Herman Meyn, American politician, Village President of Mt. Prospect, Illinois, 1935
Fritz Meyn, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kansas, 1940

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_bounty_nsw.pdf