Connaghent History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland
• Scotland

Etymology of Connaghent

The rugged west coast of Scotland in the kingdom of Dalriada is the setting from which came the Connaghent name. The name derives from someone having lived at Cunningham in Ayrshire. However, numerous branches of the Cunningham family spread all over Scotland. Two of the most prominent branches of the Cunningham Clan, the Cunninghams of Corsehill and the Cunninghams of Caprington, trace their ancestry back to the medieval era.

Connaghent Coat of Arms Creation

The Cuninghames have as their crest a unicorn, and the motto is, " Over fork over."

The unicorn is so named from its having only one horn, which grows out of its forehead. It represents strength, a haughty mind, and one who would rather die than be brought into subjection. The horn was said to possess a powerful antidote against poison, and that other animals were glad to drink of water stirred by the horn.

As to the motto, the story is that Malcolm, the first of the family, assisted Malcolm (afterwards King Malcolm Canmore) to escape when pursued by Macbeth, by forking straw or hay over him. The King afterwards rewarded him by the gift of the Thanedom of Cuninghame, and the figure on the shield like the letter Y represents the shake-fork. The other story is that the motto is derived from the fact that an ancestor had charge of the King's horses, and the shakefork was the instrument by which hay was forked to them. 1

Early Origins of the Connaghent family

Early History of the Connaghent family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Connaghent research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1490, 1520, 1548, 1574, 1575, 1578, 1610, 1630, 1664, 1670, 1716 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Connaghent History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Connaghent Spelling Variations

In various documents Connaghent has been spelled Since medieval scribes still spelled according to sound, records from that era contain an enormous number of spelling variations. Cunningham, Cunninghame, Cunyngham, Cunnyngham, Cunnynghame, Cummingham and many more.

Early Notables of the Connaghent family

Cuthbert Cunningham, 3rd Earl of Glencairn; William Cunningham, 4th Earl of Glencairn (c. 1490-1548), a Scottish nobleman; Alexander Cunningham, 5th Earl of Glencairn (died 1574), Scottish nobleman and Protestant reformer; William Cunningham, 6th Earl of Glencairn (ca. 1520-1578); James Cunningham, 7th Earl of Glencairn (died 1630), a Scottish peer, member of...
Another 51 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Connaghent Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Connaghent family to Ireland

Some of the Connaghent family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Connaghent family

Numerous Scottish settlers settled along the east coast of the colonies that would become the United States and Canada. Others traveled to the open country of the west. At the time of the American War of Independence, some remained in the United States, while those who remained loyal to the crown went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. The highland games and Clan societies that sprang up across North America in the 20th century have helped many Scots to recover parts of their lost traditions. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Connaghents to arrive in North America: John Cunningham, his wife and son, who settled in Barbados in 1679.