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![Show Contents]() Shinn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The Shinn surname originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Sionnaigh, which is derived from "sionnach," which means "fox." 1 Early Origins of the Shinn familyThe surname Shinn was first found in County Mayo (Irish: Maigh Eo) located on the West coast of the Republic of Ireland in the province of Connacht, where they held a family seat. This most ancient Irish surname is derived from Sionnach, the Fox, an epithet used by the Chief of the Irish Cathernaigh Clann, a branch of the northern Ui Fiachrach. However, some of the family were found in England in early days and there, the name was an occupational name for a Shinner or Skinner from the Old English word "scinn" meaning "skin." 2 There we found John le Scinner in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279 in Cambridgeshire; Geoffrey le Schinner in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296; and John Schynnere in Hampshire in 1305. 2 The shortened form of the name Shinn or Shynn was first found in Suffolk in the Pipe Rolls of 1165 where Herveus Schinn was listed. Hugo Scin was later found in the Pipe Rolls for Herefordshire in 1190. 2 Early History of the Shinn familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shinn research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1845 is included under the topic Early Shinn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Shinn Spelling VariationsNumerous spelling variations of the surname Shinn exist. A partial explanation for these variants is that ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include Shiner, Shinner, Shunny, Shunagh, Shunnagh, Shinnick, Shinnock, Shinick and many more. Early Notables of the Shinn familyNotable amongst the family name at this time was Shinn RankingIn the United States, the name Shinn is the 3,027th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 3
 Shinn migration to the United States | + |
Irish families began to immigrate to British North America and the United States in the 18th century, but the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. The earlier settlers came to North America after a great deal of consideration and by paying relatively high fees for their passage. These settlers were primarily drawn by the promise of land. Those later settlers that came during the 1840's were trying to escape the conditions of poverty, starvation, disease, and death that had stricken Ireland. Due to the enormity of their numbers and the late date of their arrival, these immigrants primarily became hired laborers instead of homesteading settlers like their predecessors. An exhaustive search of immigration and passenger lists has revealed many Irish immigrants North America bearing the name Shinn:
Shinn Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- John Shinn, who landed in New Jersey in 1678 4
| Contemporary Notables of the name Shinn (post 1700) | + |
- Robert C. Shinn Jr. (1937-2023), American politician, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (1994-2002)
- David H. Shinn (b. 1940), American diplomat and professor, 19th United States Ambassador to Ethiopia (1996-1999)
- Anne O'Hagan Shinn (1869-1933), American suffragist, journalist, and writer of short stories
- Everett Shinn (1876-1953), American realist painter and member of the Ashcan School
- Lieutenant Commander Conrad "Gus" S. Shinn, U.S. Navy pilot who made the first plane landing at the geographic South Pole, eponym of Mount Shinn, Antarctica
- Moses Franklin Shinn (1809-1885), American pioneer Methodist Episcopal Church minister in Omaha, Nebraska
- William Norton Shinn (1782-1871), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey (1833-1837)
- Christopher Shinn (b. 1975), American OBIE Award (2005) and Guggenheim Fellowship in Playwriting (2005) winning playwright, a Pulitzer Prize finalist (2008)
- Milicent Washburn Shinn (1858-1940), American child psychologist, the first woman to receive a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley
- George Shinn (b. 1941), American former owner of the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, the Charlotte Knights and the Gastonia Rangers
- ... (Another 27 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
- O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- "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)
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Shinn migration to the United States 
England
Ireland
