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Heenan History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Heenan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The Irish name Heenan originally appeared in Gaelic as "O hEanain," but sometimes is an abbreviated form of the surname Henagahn.

Early Origins of the Heenan family

The surname Heenan was first found in County Tipperary (Irish: Thiobraid Árann), established in the 13th century in South-central Ireland, in the province of Munster, and Offaly where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Heenan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heenan research. Another 117 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Heenan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heenan Spelling Variations

Many spelling variations of the surname Heenan can be found in the archives. One reason for these variations is that ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. The different spellings that were found include Heenan, Henaghan, Henehan, Heenon, Hanegan, Hannegan, Hanigan, Hannigan, Haneghan and many more.

Early Notables of the Heenan family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

Heenans of Roscrea

Heenan Ranking

In the United States, the name Heenan is the 12,610^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Heenan migration to the United States +

A great mass of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century, seeking relief from various forms of social, religious, and economic discrimination. This Irish exodus was primarily to North America. If the migrants survived the long ocean journey, many unfortunately would find more discrimination in the colonies of British North America and the fledgling United States of America. These newly arrived Irish were, however, wanted as a cheap source of labor for the many large agricultural and industrial projects that were essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the western world. Early immigration and passenger lists indicate many people bearing the Heenan name:

Heenan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Timothy Heenan, who landed in New York in 1832 2
Aleda H Heenan, aged 1, who landed in New York, NY in 1847 2
Engeleu A Heenan, aged 39, who arrived in New York, NY in 1847 2
Gertrude Heenan, aged 35, who landed in New York, NY in 1847 2
H Heenan, aged 23, who arrived in New York, NY in 1847 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Heenan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Heenan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

John Heenan, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1845

Heenan migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Heenan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

John Heenan, aged 38, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Osceola" 3
Maurice Heenan, aged 25, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1859 aboard the ship "David McIvor"
Denis Heenan, aged 19, a farm servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1859 aboard the ship "David McIvor"
John Heenan, aged 22, a farm servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1859 aboard the ship "David McIvor"
Patrick Heenan, aged 25, a farm servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1859 aboard the ship "David McIvor"

Heenan migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Heenan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Dennis Heenan, aged 60, a farmer, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Mariner" in 1849
Judith Heenan, aged 42, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Mariner" in 1849
Mary Heenan, aged 11, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Mariner" in 1849
Edward Heenan, aged 8, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Mariner" in 1849
James Heenan, aged 7, who arrived in Otago aboard the ship "Mariner" in 1849
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Heenan (post 1700) +

Raymond Louis Heenan (1944-2017), better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, an American professional wrestling manager, wrestler and color commentator
Patrick Dennis Heenan (b. 1938), former American football cornerback
John Camel Heenan (1834-1873), American bare-knuckle prize fighter
Thomas Edward Heenan (1848-1914), American politician, U.S. Consul in Odessa, 1897-1905; Warsaw, 1914 4
Palmer T. Heenan (b. 1921), American Republican politician, Member of Michigan Republican State Central Committee, 1959, 1979; Mayor of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, 1983-; Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1984 4
Jill Heenan, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 2004 4
James C. Heenan, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Indiana 2nd District, 1902 4
Earl I. III Heenan, American Republican politician, Candidate for Michigan State Senate 1st District, 1974 4
Roy Lacaud Heenan OC (1935-2017), Canadian labour lawyer and academic, founding partner of the Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie
Jim P. Heenan (1930-1999), Australian rules footballer
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Heenan family +

Halifax Explosion

Mr. John C. Heenan (1855-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 5

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) OSCEOLA / ASCEOLA 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Osceola-Asceola.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance