Eldowney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

Gaelic, otherwise known as Early Modern Irish, was used in Ireland from around the year 1200 until the 18th century. It is from this language that we found the first references to the name Eldowney as Ó Dúnadhaigh. The name is essentially derived from the word dún which means fort. 1

Early Origins of the Eldowney family

The surname Eldowney was first found in the twelfth century.

Early History of the Eldowney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Eldowney research. Another 189 words (14 lines of text) covering the year 1420 is included under the topic Early Eldowney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Eldowney Spelling Variations

A name was often recorded during the Middle Ages under several different spelling variations during the life of its bearer because literacy was rare there was no real push to clearly define any of the languages found in the British Isles at that time. Variations found of the name Eldowney include O'Downey, Dawney, MacDowney, MacEldowney, Muldowney and many more.

Early Notables of the Eldowney family

Notable among the family name at this time was the O'Dunadhaigh sept found in Luchair, the old name of a region that lay on the borders of...
Another 26 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Eldowney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Eldowney migration to the United States +

Death and immigration greatly reduced Ireland's population in the 19th century. For the native Irish people poverty, hunger, and racial prejudice was common. Therefore, thousands left their homeland to seek opportunity in North America. Those who survived the journey and the quarantine camps to which they arrived, were instrumental towards building the strong developing nations of the United States and the future Canada. By far, the largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. These were employed as construction or factory workers. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has shown early immigrants bearing the name Eldowney:

Eldowney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Peter Eldowney, who landed in New York, NY in 1812 2

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)