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| Origins Available: |
| | Ireland |
The many Irish surnames in use today have long rich histories behind them. The name McAneny originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac an Airchinnigh, which means son of the erenagh. The word erenagh refers to a steward of church lands. This was originally an ecclesiastical task, but was later performed by laymen, becoming a hereditary trade. 1
The surname McAneny was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where the MacInerny variant prevails.
The McEneany variant is "the name of two septs. That Co. Roscommon is almost extinct; that of Oriel is numerous under many variants. A study of this name which appeared in the Clogher Record (1960) presents evidence (which I have verified elsewhere) to prove that its Irish form is not the generally accepted Mac Conaonaigh but Mac an Dhéaghanaigh, earlier Mac an Déaganaigh." 1
"MacAneany, also written MacEneany and sometimes MacNeany, was changed to Bird by some families in County Monaghan, Louth and Meath." 2
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McAneny research. Another 214 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1365, 1393, 1398 and 1659 are included under the topic Early McAneny History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 McAneny that are preserved in the archival documents of the time are MacInerny, MacInerney, Nerney, Kinnerk, Nerheny, Nertney, Nirney, McNertney, MacNertney, MacNerney and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early McAneny Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Irish families began leaving their homeland for North America in the late 18th century. These families were usually modestly well off, but they were looking forward to owning and working on a sizable tract of land of their own. This pattern of emigration continued until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine sparked a major exodus of destitute and desperate Irish people. These people were not leaving for a grant of land in North America because by this time the East Coast had reached its saturation point and free land was scarce. They were merely looking to escape the disease, starvation, and hopelessness that Ireland had fallen into. Although these unfortunate immigrants did not receive a warm welcome by the established populations in the United States and what would become Canada, they were absolutely critical to the rapid development that these two nations enjoyed. They would help populate the western lands and provide the cheap labor required for a rapid industrialization. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many early bearers of the name McAneny or one of its variants:
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: