Show ContentsHony History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Hundreds of years ago, the Gaelic name used by the Hony family in Ireland was Mac Eogain in Connacht, and Mac Eoin in east Ulster. Both of these names connote a "son of John," or "son of Owen." 1

Early Origins of the Hony family

The surname Hony was first found in County Sligo (Irish: Sligeach), in the province of Connacht in Northwestern Ireland, where the first people to use this surname are thought to have originated. Soon thereafter, the name was also found in neighboring Leitrim.

Early History of the Hony family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hony research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hony History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hony Spelling Variations

The recording of names in Ireland during the Middle Ages was an inconsistent endeavor at best. Since the general population did not know how to read or write, they could only specify how their names should be recorded orally. Research into the name Hony revealed spelling variations, including Keon, MacKeon, MacKeown, MacKewan, MacKoun, MacWing, Hone, MacOwen, Mageown and many more.

Early Notables of the Hony family

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


United States Hony migration to the United States +

In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the Hony family came to North America quite early:

Hony Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Mary Hony, who landed in Virginia in 1724 2

New Zealand Hony 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:

Hony Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Carl R. Hony, aged 25, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Dorette" in 1874 3


  1. Moore, A.W., Manx Names. London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1906. Print
  2. 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)
  3. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 5th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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