Cunneen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Cunneen is an ancient name dating from the times of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It was a name for a person who was a swift runner or a timid person. The surname Cunneen is derived from the Old English words conig and cony, which mean rabbit. 1 "The fact that Thomas Cony (1323, Freeman of York) was a pelter suggests that the surname may also have denoted a dealer in rabbit-skins, perhaps also a furrier." 2
Early Origins of the Cunneen family
The surname Cunneen was first found in many counties throughout ancient Britain. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Richard Conni, Salop (Shropshire) and John Conay, Huntingdonshire. 1
"Sire Hubert and Sire William de Coni held lands from Philip Augustus c. 1204. Robert Coignee occurs in Gloucester 1230." 3
Richard le Cony was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296 and later the same rolls included Robert Cony who held lands in Cambridgeshire in 1327. 2
One of the strongholds of the family was found in Lincolnshire where "in the 16th century Richard and Thomas Coney, father and son, who were Merchants of the Staple of Calais, owned the manor - house, Basingthorpe; the same Thomas Coney, who accumulated a great fortune and was High Sheriff of Rutland in 1573. He gave £100 towards the national fund collected for the defence of the country at the time of the expected invasion of the Spanish Armada in 1588." 4
From these early entries the name expanded to places like Coney Arm, Newfoundland 5 and Coney's Castle, an Iron Age hill fort in Dorset, England.
Early History of the Cunneen family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cunneen research. Another 132 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1585, 1592, 1595, 1630, 1645, 1646, 1676, 1679, 1682, 1685, 1713, 1786, 1794, 1806, 1815 and 1833 are included under the topic Early Cunneen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Cunneen Spelling Variations
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Cunneen include Coney, Coyney, Coyny, Cony, Conney, Conye, Coyney, Cony, Conny, Connay and many more.
Early Notables of the Cunneen family
Notables of the family at this time include Robert Conny (also Cony) (1646?-1713), an English physician. He was the "son of John Conny, surgeon, and twice mayor of Rochester, born in or about 1645. He was a member of Magdalen College, Oxford, and proceeded B.A. on 8 June 1676, M.A. 3 May 1679, M.B. 2 May 1682, and M.D. 9 July 1685." 6
John Coney (1786-1833), was an English draughtsman and engraver, born in Ratcliff Highway, London. He was apprenticed to an architect, but never followed the profession. Among his early studies were pencil...
Another 92 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cunneen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Cunneen family to Ireland
Some of the Cunneen family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Cunneen migration to the United States +
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Cunneen were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:
Cunneen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Thomas Cunneen, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 7
Cunneen migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Cunneen Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
- Mr. John Cunneen, aged 28 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Bee" departing 17th April 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 12th June 1847 but he died on board 8
Cunneen migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Cunneen Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Mr. John Cunneen, (b. 1776), aged 42, Irish farm labourer who was convicted in County Clare, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Earl St Vincent" on 9th August 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1856 9
- Daniel Cunneen, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Birman" in 1840 10
- Michael Cunneen, aged 40, a farm labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Constance" 11
- John Cunneen, aged 14, a ploughboy, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Constance" 11
- Thomas Cunneen, aged 16, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Constance" 11
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Cunneen 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:
Cunneen Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Thomas Cunneen, aged 17, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1875
- Michael Cunneen, aged 14, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1875
- Daniel Cunneen, aged 12, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1875
- Mary Cunneen, aged 41, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1875
- Margaret Cunneen, aged 7, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1875
Contemporary Notables of the name Cunneen (post 1700) +
- James Cunneen, American politician, Member of the California State Assembly (1994-2000)
- John Cunneen (1848-1907), Irish-born, American lawyer and politician
- Dan Cunneen (b. 1963), American drummer, lyricist, songwriter, disc jockey and record producer
- Shannon Cunneen (b. 1977), Australian former cricket player who played from 2000 to 2004
- Peter Cunneen (1926-2007), Australian speedway driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s, winner of the Australian Speedcar Championship in 1965
- Patrick J. Cunneen (b. 1936), Irish retired hurler who played at club level with St. Patrick's and at inter-county level with Limerick
- John Jerome Cunneen (1932-2010), New Zealand prelate, 8th Catholic Bishop of Christchurch from 1995 until 2007
- James Augustine Cunneen (1826-1889), Australian politician, born at Mulgrave
- Margaret Cunneen (b. 1959), Australian barrister and prosecutor
Citations +
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
- Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland Montreal: McGill's-Queen's University Press 1998. Print. (ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- 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)
- Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 71)
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-st-vincent
- State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BIRMAN 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Birman.htm
- State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CONSTANCE 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Constance.htm