MacNamara History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  Ireland 


Surnames of Irish origin have experienced many changes in their spellings and forms. Before being translated into English, MacNamara appeared as Mac Conmara, which means "hound of the sea" or "warrior of the sea."

Early Origins of the MacNamara family

The surname MacNamara was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where MacConmara or MacNamara was chief of the territory of Clan Caisin, now the barony of Tullagh. The family was also sometimes styled chiefs of Clan Cuilean; derived from Cuilean, one of their chiefs in the eighth century. This ancient family have traditionally held the high office of hereditary marshals of Thomond.

Early History of the MacNamara family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacNamara research. Another 136 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1402, 1426, 1768, 1797 and 1826 are included under the topic Early MacNamara History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

MacNamara Spelling Variations

Official documents, crafted by early scribes and church officials, primarily contained names that were spelled according to their pronunciation. This lead to the problem of one name being recorded under several different variations, creating an illusion that a single person was many people. Among the many spelling variations of the surname MacNamara that are preserved in the archival documents of the time are McNamara, McNamar, McNamarra, McNamard, Sheedy and many more.

Early Notables of the MacNamara family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was


MacNamara migration to the United States +

In the 18th and 19th centuries hundreds of thousands of Irish people immigrated to North American shores. The early settlers were enticed by the promise of their own land, but they were moderately well off in Ireland when they decided to emigrate. Therefore, they were merely carrying out a long and carefully thought out decision. The 1840s saw the emergence of a very different trend: thousands of extremely desperate people crammed into passenger boats hoping to find any type of opportunity. The Irish of this decade had seen their homeland severely stricken by crop failures which resulted in widespread disease and starvation. At whatever time the Irish immigrants came to North America, they were instrumental in the rapid development of the emerging nations of the United States and what would become known as Canada. An exhaustive search of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many persons bearing the name MacNamara, or one of its variants:

MacNamara Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
MacNamara Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

MacNamara migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

MacNamara Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

MacNamara 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:

MacNamara Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name MacNamara (post 1700) +
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