First found in Galway, where they were anciently seated as hereditary physicians to the O'Flahertys. Traditionally, this great sept is descended through the Fihillys from Muredach Maolleathan the 16th Christian King of Connacht. Irish history was greatly influenced by the Norman invasion of 1172, and thereafter, the surnames of Irish Gaelic clanns and septs and many of the Norman families became almost indistinguishable.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Thos. Cannavan, who arrived in New York in 1832; Martin Cannavan, who came to Dubuque Co., IA in 1832; Biddy Canavan, who settled in New York in 1849.

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