Chain Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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All Irish surnames have a unique and often romantic meaning. The name Chain originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac Seain, which translates as son of John.

Chain Early Origins

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The surname Chain was first found in County Kerry (Irish:Ciarraí) part of the former County Desmond (14th-17th centuries), located in Southwestern Ireland, in Munster province, where they were granted lands by Strongbow when he invaded Ireland in 1172.

Chain Spelling Variations

The spelling of names in Ireland during the Middle Ages was rarely consistent. This inconsistency was due to the scribes and church officials' attempts to record orally defined names in writing. The common practice of recording names as they sounded resulted in spelling variations such as McShane, McShain, McShaen, MacShane, MacShain, MacShaen, MacCheyne, McCheyne, McSheyne, MacSheyne, McCheine, McChain, MacCheine, MacChain, McChein, McShaney, McShanie and many more.

Chain Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chain research. Another 231 words (16 lines of text) covering the year 1750 is included under the topic Early Chain History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chain Early Notables (pre 1700)

More information is included under the topic Early Chain Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

The English-ruled Ireland of the late 18th and 19th centuries featured a rapidly increasing population and an agricultural-based economy. This combination proved to be disastrous in the 1840s after a couple of failed potato harvests. Thousands died of disease and starvation, and thousands more left the country, often bound for North America. Those that survived the journey to North America were put to work building the bridges, canals, roadways, and railways needed for the development of an industrial society. Those Irish, although often despised by those already established in North American cities and towns, played an instrumental role in making Canada and the United States the powerful and wealthy nations that they are today. An examination of early immigration and passenger lists has shown many immigrants bearing the name Chain: John and Joseph McShain settled in Philadelphia in 1860.

Contemporary Notables of the name Chain (post 1700)

Sir Ernst Boris Chain (1906-1979), German-born British biochemist, and a 1945 co-recipient of the Nobel Prize

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Citations

Other References

Vicars, Sir Arthur. Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland 1536-1810. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. Print.
Donovan, George Francis. The Pre-Revolutionary Irish in Massachusetts 1620-1775. Menasha, WI: Geroge Banta Publsihing Co., 1932. Print.
Leyburn, James Graham. The Scotch-Irish A Social History. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1962. Print. (ISBN 0807842591).
Fitzgerald, Thomas W. Ireland and Her People A Library of Irish Biography 5 Volumes. Chicago: Fitzgerald. Print.
Bolton, Charles Knowles. Bolton's American Armory. Baltimore: Heraldic Book Company, 1964. Print.
Land Owners in Ireland. Genealogical Publishing. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-1203-3).
MacLysaght, Edward. The Surnames of Ireland 3rd Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1978. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2278-0).
Zieber, Eugene. Heraldry in America. Philadelphia: Genealogical Publishing Co. Print.
MacLysaght, Edward. Mores Irish Familes. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0).
Sullivan, Sir Edward. The Book of Kells 3rd Edition. New York: Crescent Books, 1986. Print. (ISBN 0-517-61987-3).
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The Chain Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Chain Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 5 August 2017 at 13:57.