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Origins Available: |
| Ireland |
Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name Kennan is Ó Cianain.
The surname Kennan was first found in County Fermanagh (Irish: Fear Manach) in the southwestern part of Northern Ireland, Province of Ulster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kennan research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1600 and 1659 are included under the topic Early Kennan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Within the archives researched, many different spelling variations of the surname Kennan were found. These included One reason for the many variations is that scribes and church officials often spelled an individual's name as it sounded. This imprecise method often led to many versions. Keenan, O'Keenan and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Kennan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
A massive amount of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century for North America and Australia in hopes of finding more opportunities and an escape from discrimination and oppression. A great portion of these migrants arrived on the eastern shores of the North American continent. Although they were generally poor and destitute, and, therefore, again discriminated against, these Irish people were heartily welcomed for the hard labor involved in the construction of railroads, canals, roadways, and buildings. Many others were put to work in the newly established factories or agricultural projects that were so essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s initiated the largest wave of Iris immigration. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name Kennan or a variant listed above: