Contents [hide]

McKinney History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Suggested Reading Citations

McKinney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

The Scottish name McKinney is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Shimidh, a patronymic name from the Gaelic meaning 'son of Simon' (Simmie), of old Mack Himy. 1

Turning back the clocks of time, we found Simon Fraser in 1570 gave this interesting note about the Simon: "A name pretty rare in Scotland, south or north, although kindly to this famely, being the first name it had, and hence the Lord Lovat is called M'Khimy."

Early Origins of the McKinney family

The surname McKinney was first found in Tweedale in Peebles-shire. They are said to descend from a Norman family from Anjou, in the Seigneurie of La Frezeliere, where their name was Frezell, they were one of the many Norman families invited north by King David of Scotland, and were granted lands at Keith in East Lothian in 1160.

The first chief to settle was named Simon Frazer, and his lands were called Keith Simon. Their stronghold was Oliver Castle on the Tweed.

The name is thought to have derived from Simon Fraser killed at Halidon Hill in 1333. By 1506, the family had achieved such notoriety that "King James IV granted in heritage to Ewin Makkymme the half of Lepinquhillin in Bute and to John Makkymmie the other half. These Makkymmes may have been the sons of Symon M'Watt who is in record in 1499." 1

Early History of the McKinney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McKinney research. Another 322 words (23 lines of text) covering the years 1333, 1529, 1542, 1550, 1586, 1590, 1609, 1641, 1658, 1662, 1708, 1716 and 1890 are included under the topic Early McKinney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McKinney Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: MacKimmie, Mackhimmie, MacShimmie, MacCammie, MacKymmie, MacKymmey, MacImmey, MacImmie, McKimmie, McShimmie, McCammie, McKynnie, McKymmey, McImmey and many more.

Early Notables of the McKinney family

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

McKinney Ranking

In the United States, the name McKinney is the 285^th most popular surname with an estimated 94,506 people with that name. 2

Migration of the McKinney family to Ireland

Some of the McKinney family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 84 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McKinney migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McKinney Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Christopher McKinney, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 3

McKinney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William McKinney, aged 46, who landed in New York in 1812 3
Margaret McKinney, who arrived in New York, NY in 1817 3
George McKinney, who landed in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1818 3
Thomas F McKinney, aged 26, who arrived in Texas in 1827 3
James McKinney, who arrived in Texas in 1835 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McKinney migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McKinney Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

John McKinney, aged 20, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "John & Mary" from Belfast, Ireland
Mary McKinney, aged 18, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "John & Mary" from Belfast, Ireland
Susan McKinney, aged 18, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "John & Mary" from Belfast, Ireland
Henry McKinney, aged 16, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Billow" in 1833
James McKinney, aged 40, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Eleanor Gordon" in 1834
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McKinney 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:

McKinney Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Rev. Mckinney, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Martaban" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th October 1856 4
Mrs. Mckinney, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Martaban" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th October 1856 4
Annie McKinney, aged 22, a domestic servant, who arrived in Bluff, New Zealand aboard the ship "Christian McAusland" in 1875
John McKinney, aged 34, a farm labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1876
Miss Mary McKinney, (b. 1858), aged 20, Irish settler from Tyrone departing on 10th August 1878 aboard the ship "Hydaspes" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 9th November 1878

Contemporary Notables of the name McKinney (post 1700) +

Nina Mae McKinney (1913-1967), American actress, one of the first African-American film stars
Samuel B. McKinney (1926-2018), American Christian pastor and Civil Rights leader
Larry J. McKinney (1944-2017), American jurist, Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (2009-2017)
Carlos "Los Da Mystro" McKinney (b. 1978), Grammy-nominated American record producer and jazz pianist
Horace Albert "Bones" McKinney (1919-1997), American professional basketball player and coach
William Denison "Bill" McKinney (1931-2011), American character actor
Tamara McKinney (b. 1962), American former World Cup alpine ski racer who won four World Cup season titles
Jimmy McKinney (b. 1983), American professional basketball player and film actor
Cynthia Ann McKinney (b. 1955), American politician and activist
William McKinney (1895-1969), American jazz drummer, founder of McKinney's Cotton Pickers in 1926
... (Another 9 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The McKinney Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Je suis prest
Motto Translation: I am ready.

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html