Counahan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Etymology of Counahan

Today's Irish surnames are underpinned by a multitude of rich histories. The name Counahan originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Cuana, probably derived from "cuan," which means elegant. 1

Early Origins of the Counahan family

Early History of the Counahan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Counahan research. Another 126 words (9 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Counahan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Counahan Spelling Variations

The Middle Ages saw a great number of spelling variations for surnames common to the Irish landscape. One reason for these variations is the fact that surnames were not rigidly fixed by this period. The following variations for the name Counahan were encountered in the archives: Cooney, O'Cooney, Counihan and others.

Early Notables of the Counahan family

Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Counahan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Counahan family

In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the Counahan family came to North America quite early: the Cooneys who migrated to Canada, arriving in Peterborough, Belleville, and Lindsay, in 1825. Andrew, Anthony, Brian, Christopher, Henry, James, John, Michael, Owen, Patrick, Peter, Thomas and William Cooney arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860..