Guinnes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Ireland

While many of Irish names are quite familiar to most, their original Gaelic forms are often forgotten and mysterious. The original Gaelic form of the name Guinnes is Mag Aonghusa or Mag Aonghuis, which mean "son of Angus." 1

Early Origins of the Guinnes family

The surname Guinnes was first found in County Down (Irish:An Dún) part of the Province of Ulster, in Northern Ireland, formerly known as county St Mirren, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Guinnes family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Guinnes research. Another 140 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1539, 1543, 1584, 1640, 1703, 1759, 1797, 1798 and 1868 are included under the topic Early Guinnes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Guinnes Spelling Variations

Ireland in the Middle Ages was inhabited by very few literate people. Therefore, the proper spelling of names was decided by a very select few. The surviving records for the time demonstrate that these scribes were often not consistent in their efforts for there are many spelling variations of certain common names. Some of the variations for the name Guinnes include Genis, Guinness, Magennis, Guinnessy, McGuinness and many more.

Early Notables of the Guinnes family

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

Guinnes 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. 2

Guinnes Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

William Guinnés, who settled in Barbados in 1663
William Guinnes who settled in Barbados in 1663

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies