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Feeny History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Feeny History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

The name Feeny originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Fiannaidhe. This name, which was Ó Feinneadha in its earlier form, refers to a soldier. 1

Early Origins of the Feeny family

The surname Feeny was first found in Galway (Irish: Gaillimh) part of the province of Connacht, located on the west coast of the Island, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, and where their territories were Ballyfeeney and in Roscommon. Moving north into Ulster the name became Finney. This branch also moved into southwest Scotland from about the 15th century.

Early History of the Feeny family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Feeny research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1509, 1541, 1551, 1640 and 1678 are included under the topic Early Feeny History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Feeny Spelling Variations

The archives that survive today demonstrate the difficulty experienced by the scribes Middle Ages in their attempts to record these names in writing. Spelling variations of the name Feeny dating from that time include Finney, Feeney, Finnay, Finny, Fynnie, Fynney, Feenay, Feeny, Feaney, Feanay, Feany and many more.

Early Notables of the Feeny family

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

Feeny migration to the United States +

Ireland saw an enormous decrease in its population in the 19th century due to immigration and death. This pattern of immigration began slowly in the late 18th century and gradually grew throughout the early portion of the 19th century. However, a dramatic increase in the country's immigration numbers occurred when the Great Potato Famine struck in the 1840s. The early immigrants to North America were primarily destined to be farmers tending to their own plot of land, those that came later initially settled within pre-established urban centers. These urban immigrants provided the cheap labor that the fast developing United States and soon to be Canada required. Regardless of their new lifestyle in North America, the Irish immigrants to the United States and Canada made invaluable contributions to their newly adopted societies. An investigation of immigrant and passenger lists revealed many Feenys:

Feeny Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Pat Feeny, who landed in New York, NY in 1803 2
Andrew Feeny, aged 29, who landed in New York in 1812 2
Michael Feeny, who arrived in New York, NY in 1816 2
Patrick Feeny, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1853 2
Peter Feeny, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1878 2

Feeny migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Feeny Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Jo Feeny, who arrived in Canada in 1812
Jo Feeny, aged 17, who landed in Canada in 1812
Ellen Feeny, aged 40, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Trafalgar" from Galway, Ireland
Ellen Feeny, aged 18, a spinster, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Highlander" in 1834
Roger Feeny, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1838

Feeny migration to Australia +

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

Feeny Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Feeny, (Feeney), (b. 1800), aged 22, Irish convict who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 3rd September 1822, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3
Anne Feeny, aged 20, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Grand Trianon"

Feeny 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:

Feeny Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Edward Feeny, aged 28, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Prince of Wales" in 1842
Alice Feeny, aged 26, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Prince of Wales" in 1842
Thomas Feeny, aged 3, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Prince of Wales" in 1842
Edward Feeny, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Prince of Wales" in 1842
Miss Honoria Feeny, (b. 1843), aged 25, British domestic servant travelling from London aboard the ship "Gainsborough" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd May 1868 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Feeny (post 1700) +

Catherine Feeny (b. 1976), American singer/songwriter
Paddy Feeny (1931-2018), British broadcaster and presenter of the BBC World Service's Saturday Special (1959 to 1995)

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html