Brosnihan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The ancient Brosnihan surname is derived from the Irish Gaelic "ó Brosnacháin," which may be derived from the place name Brosna in Kerry. 1
Early Origins of the Brosnihan family
The surname Brosnihan was first found in Kerry (Irish: Ciarraí) part of the former County Desmond (14th-17th centuries), located in Southwestern Ireland, in Munster province, where they held a family seat as Chiefs and kin to both the Dunns and the Dempseys. Irish history, after the Norman Conquest of England, was strongly influenced by the invasion of Strongbow in 1172, almost equal to the enormous Irish cultural impact on England Scotland, Wales and the whole of Europe before the Norman Conquest from the 1st to 7th centuries. Many Irish clanns, sept names were intermixed and family groupings became almost indistinguishable.
Early History of the Brosnihan family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brosnihan research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Brosnihan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Brosnihan Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Brosnan, Brosnahan, O'Brosnan, Brosnochain, Bresnahan, Bresnan, Brosna, Brosnihan and many more.
Early Notables of the Brosnihan family
More information is included under the topic Early Brosnihan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Brosnihan migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Brosnihan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- John Brosnihan, who settled in Alleghany in 1856
- John Brosnihan, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1856 2
Brosnihan 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:
Brosnihan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Margaret Brosnihan, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Edwin Fox" in 1875
Contemporary Notables of the name Brosnihan (post 1700) +
- Diana Golden Brosnihan (1963-2001), née Diana Golden, an American disabled ski racer who won 10 world and 19 United States championships between 1986 and 1990, inducted into the United States Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame
- Warren Guy Brosnihan (b. 1971), South African former rugby union player
Citations +
- MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
- 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)