Show ContentsQuinnan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Quinnan comes from the Irish surname Ó Cuanain (O'Conein and MacConein) and is derived from the Irish Cuinin for "rabbit", son of Dugal. They claim descendancy through the Donnelly line of the native Irish. 1

Early Origins of the Quinnan family

The surname Quinnan was first found in County Tipperary (Irish: Thiobraid Árann), established in the 13th century in South-central Ireland, in the province of Munster, where Isaac O Cuanain was Bishop of Roscrea from 1161 to 1168. But the name was scattered throughout Ireland, some bearers being recorded in Kildare and the surrounding counties in the 16th century.

Bearers of the name Quinnan were also present in County Sligo, where O'Cunane was a principal Irish name in the census of 1659. The two baronies of County Leitrim which border County Sligo, had the name O'Conan listed in the same census.

Early History of the Quinnan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Quinnan research. Another 62 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1666 is included under the topic Early Quinnan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Quinnan Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Conan, Coonan, Coonane, O'Conan, O'Cunane and others.

Early Notables of the Quinnan family

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

Migration of the Quinnan family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Peter, Betty, and Michael Conan, who landed in New Bedford, Maryland in 1805; Adam Conan, who arrived in New York in 1820; Nancy Coonan, who landed in Baltimore in 1826.


Contemporary Notables of the name Quinnan (post 1700) +

  • John P. Quinnan, American politician, Member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Lackawanna County, 1893 2


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook