Show ContentsDinneen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient roots of the Dinneen family belong to the County Cork families, especially from the South-western area known anciently as Corca Laoidhe. In the 11th century in Ireland, the frequency of travel as well as the nation's population increase encouraged many to adopt hereditary surnames so that they would not be mistaken for others that shared their first name. The surname Dinneen appeared as "Ó Duinnín" in Irish Gaelic. It is a patronymic name, from the most ancient of Irish naming traditions, and means 'descendent of Duinnín'. 1

Early Origins of the Dinneen family

The surname Dinneen was first found in County Cork, especially in the south-western part anciently known as Corca Laoidhe. Today the "O" prefix is extremely rare for this surname. Major changes in spellings of names occurred in Ireland after Cromwell's conquest in the early 17th century. The British colonizers Anglicized Irish names by removing Irish prefixes, translating, simplifying and standardizing the spellings. The substitution of O in the place of Mc was probably the most common of these errors. The name Dinneen lost it's O' at this time, and it has only rarely been revived. Also, in this era, the Gaelic name O' Duinnin of County Kerry was often anglicized to 'Downing'.

Early History of the Dinneen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dinneen research. Another 253 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1623, 1684, 1860, 1934 and 1984 are included under the topic Early Dinneen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dinneen Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Dinneend, Dineane, Dinneynd, Dinneyn, Dinneind, Dinneane, Dinneand, Dineent, Dineend, Dineand, Dinnean, Dineynd, Dineint, Dineyn, Dineind, Dinneant, Dinean, Dinneent, Dinneint and many more.

Early Notables of the Dinneen family

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


Canada Dinneen migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dinneen Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Miss. Mary Dinneen, aged 10 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Covenanter" departing from the port of Cork, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle in August 1847 2

Australia Dinneen migration to Australia +

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

Dinneen Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Timothy Dinneen, (b. 1820), aged 23, Irish ploughman who was convicted in Cork, Ireland for 10 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Constant" on 9th May 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1863 3

New Zealand Dinneen 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:

Dinneen Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Jeremiah Dinneen, (b. 1840), aged 23, Irish farm labourer, from County Cork travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastopol" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st May 1863 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Dinneen (post 1700) +

  • Michael Dinneen, American-born New Zealand mathematician and computer scientist
  • Joseph Francis Dinneen (1897-1964), American writer
  • Bill Dinneen (1876-1955), American baseball player
  • William F. Dinneen, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1924, 1932, 1936; Chair of St. Lawrence County Democratic Party, 1927-39 5
  • Patrick J. Dinneen, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Herkimer County, 1935 5
  • John Dinneen, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Huntingdon, 1884 5
  • Daniel F. Dinneen, American politician, Mayor of Decatur, Illinois, 1911-19; Member of Illinois State House of Representatives 28th District, 1935-47 5
  • John Dinneen (1867-1942), Irish Farmers' Party politician
  • Patrick S. Dinneen (1860-1934), Irish lexicographer and historian best known for his Irish-English dictionary, Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla, which was first published in 1904


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
  2. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 24)
  3. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/constant
  4. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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