Show ContentsDurneend History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The original Gaelic form of the Irish name Durneend was Ó Duirnin or Ó Dornian, possibly derived from the word "dorn," which means "fist." 1

Early Origins of the Durneend family

The surname Durneend was first found in County Antrim (Irish: Aontroim) located in the province of Ulster in present day Northern Ireland. The name is also specific to "Ballydurnian in County Antrim, but Durnian is the more usual form in west Ulster." 2

Early History of the Durneend family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Durneend research. Another 164 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1596 and 1700 are included under the topic Early Durneend History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Durneend Spelling Variations

The archives that survive today demonstrate the difficulty experienced by the scribes of the Middle Ages in their attempts to record these names in writing. Spelling variations of the name Durneend dating from that time include Durnan, Durnane, Durneen, Durnin, Durnain, Dornan, Dornain and many more.

Early Notables of the Durneend family

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

Migration of the Durneend family

In the 18th and 19th centuries, thousands of Irish families fled an Ireland that was forcibly held through by England through its imperialistic policies. A large portion of these families crossed the Atlantic to the shores of North America. The fate of these families depended on when they immigrated and the political allegiances they showed after they arrived. Settlers that arrived before the American War of Independence may have moved north to Canada at the war's conclusion as United Empire Loyalists. Such Loyalists were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Those that fought for the revolution occasionally gained the land that the fleeing Loyalist vacated. After this period, free land and an agrarian lifestyle were not so easy to come by in the East. So when seemingly innumerable Irish immigrants arrived during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s, free land for all was out of the question. These settlers were instead put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Whenever they came, Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Durneend or a variant listed above, including: Nicholas Durnan who settled in Virginia in 1734; Charles Durnin settled in Newcastle in Co. Delaware in 1827; John Durnin arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1868.



  1. MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0)
  2. MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.


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