Kanaday History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The spelling and overall form of Irish names tend to vary widely over time. The original Gaelic form of the name Kanaday is O'Cinneide , which is derived from the words "ceann," which means "head," and "éidigh," which means "helmet" 1 or O'Cinnidha, which means "a nation" or "kind." 2

Early Origins of the Kanaday family

The surname Kanaday was first found in County Tipperary (Irish: Thiobraid Árann), established in the 13th century in South-central Ireland, in the province of Munster. This distinguished Irish family were descended from Kennedy, nephew of King Brian Boru, Ireland's great Warrior King who fell in the battle of Clontarf in the year 1014. 2

The name has a long and illustrious history that begins in early times: Flan O'Kennedy, Abbot of Tim, a learned poet who died in 1110; two O'Kennedy of Ormond chiefs who were slain in 1117; Giolla-Kevin O'Kennedy who died on a pilgrimage at Killaloe in 1159; O'Kennedy, Abbot of Innisfallen who died in 1198; Donal O'Kennedy, Bishop of Killaloe who died in 1212; and many more. 2

Early History of the Kanaday family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kanaday research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1615 and 1685 are included under the topic Early Kanaday History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kanaday Spelling Variations

Irish names recorded during the Middle Ages are characterized by many spelling variations. This preponderance of variations for common names can be explained by the fact that the scribes and church officials that kept records during that period individually decided how to capture one's name. These recorders primarily based their decisions on how the name was pronounced or what it meant. Research into the name Kanaday revealed many variations, including Kennedy, Minagh, Kennady, O'Kennedy and others.

Early Notables of the Kanaday family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was Mathew Kennedy, who was forced to leave Ireland for France after the Fall of Limerick; Sir Robert Kennedy, 1st Baronet, an official of the...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kanaday Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kanaday migration to the United States +

A great wave of Irish migration occurred during the 19th century as a direct result of English colonial rule and tight-fisted absentee landlords. Many of these Irish immigrants boarded passenger ships bound for North America. Those who migrated early enough were given land in either British North America or the United States; those who came in the late 19th century were typically employed in industrial centers as laborers. At whatever age they undertook the dangerous passage to North America, those Irish immigrants were essential to the speedy development of the two infant nations to which they arrived, whether they broke and settled land, helped build canals, bridges, and railroads, or produced products for consumer consumption. An examination of immigration and passenger lists has uncovered a large number of immigrants bearing the name Kanaday or one of its variants:

Kanaday Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Richard Kanaday, who landed in Virginia in 1702 3

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
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)