Contents [hide]

Hearne History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Hearne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Many Irish surnames can be traced back to their Gaelic forms. The name Hearne originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó hEachthigheirn or Ó hEachthigheirna, made up of the words "each" meaning "steed," and "thighearna," meaning "lord." This was first Anglicized O'Hagherin, which was later changed to O'Aherne before the prefix was eventually dropped. 1

Early Origins of the Hearne family

The surname Hearne was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat as a Dalcassian sept from before the year 1000. However, with the disruptions of the Strongbow Invasion of 1172, they migrated southward to counties Cork and Waterford. In Waterford the name is predominantly Hearn and Hearne.

Early History of the Hearne family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hearne research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1420, 1566, 1754, 1769, 1797 and 1806 are included under the topic Early Hearne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hearne Spelling Variations

Many variations of the name Hearne were found in archives from the Middle Ages. The spelling and language in which the people's names were recorded was often up to the individual scribe. Variations of the name Hearne found include O'Aherne, O'Ahern, Hearne, O'Heffron, Haveran, Hayveren and many more.

Early Notables of the Hearne family

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

Hearne Ranking

In the United States, the name Hearne is the 5,821^st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2

Hearne migration to the United States +

The 18th and 19th centuries saw many Irish families immigrate to North America in search of land and opportunities. The largest influx of Irish immigrants to the United States and British North America came during the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine laid waste to their homeland. Hundreds of thousands left the island in an attempt to escape the starvation and disease it brought. Although the arrival of such a large number of destitute Irish was not welcomed by the established population in the United States and what would become known as Canada at the time, these Irish were an essential element to the rapid development of these growing industrial nations. They filled the demand for the cheap labor needed for the work in factories and in the construction of bridges, roads, canals, and railways. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many immigrants bearing the name of Hearne or one of its variants:

Hearne Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Hearne, who landed in Virginia in 1636 3
Thomas Hearne, who landed in Virginia in 1639 3
Robert Hearne, who arrived in Virginia in 1652 3

Hearne Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

J S Hearne, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 3

Hearne Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mr. George Hearne, (b. 1877), aged 23, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "St Louis" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 29th April 1900 en route to Ishpeming, Michigan, USA 4
Mr. Charles Hearne, (b. 1894), aged 11, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "St Louis" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to New York, USA 4
Mrs. Edith Hearne, (b. 1875), aged 30, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "St Louis" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to New York, USA 4
Mr. Edward Hearne, (b. 1900), aged 5, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "St Louis" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to New York, USA 4

Hearne migration to Australia +

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

Hearne Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Hearne, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Baring" in April 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. Joseph Hearne, (b. 1796), aged 19, English errand boy who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Baring" in April 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died 1861 5
Benjamin Hearne, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Almorah" on April 1817, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Joseph Hearne, English convict who was convicted in Somerset, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bardaster" on 7th September 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Elizabeth Hearne, aged 20, a housemaid, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Sultana" 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Hearne 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:

Hearne Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss M. A. Hearne, British settler travelling from London, UK aboard the ship "Aorangi" en route to Wellington, New Zealand on 23rd July 1892 9

Hearne migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Hearne Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Thomas Hearne, who settled in Barbados in 1671

Contemporary Notables of the name Hearne (post 1700) +

William L. Hearne, American politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Ohio County, 1877 11
Thor Hearne (b. 1961), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 2004 11
R. D. Hearne, American politician, Mayor of Gilbert, Arizona, 1947-49 11
Mark F. Hearne, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Missouri 3rd District, 1988; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 2008 11
Lydia Cromwell Hearne, American Republican politician, Physician; Presidential Elector for West Virginia, 1924 11
Julian G. Hearne, American Republican politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Ohio County, 1907-10; Member of West Virginia State Senate 1st District, 1911-14; Defeated, 1934 11
Gary D. Hearne, American politician, Representative from California, 1996, 1998, 2000 11
Claude Hearne, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1956 11
Eddie Hearne (1887-1955), American racecar driver from Kansas City
George Gibbons Hearne (1856-1932), English first-class cricketer for Kent between 1875 and 1895
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Hearne family +

Senghenydd colliery

Mr. Thomas Hearne (b. 1871), Welsh coal miner from Senghenydd, Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died

The Hearne 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: Per ardua surgo
Motto Translation: I rise through difficulties.

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
"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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Almorah voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1817 with 180 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/almorah/1817
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bardaster
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SULTANA 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Sultana.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html