Kernaghan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The original Gaelic form of the name Kernaghan is Ó Cearnachain, which is derived from the word "cearnach," which means "victorious." 1

Early Origins of the Kernaghan family

The surname Kernaghan was first found in County Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall), northwest Ireland in the province of Ulster, sometimes referred to as County Tyrconnel, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Kernaghan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kernaghan research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Kernaghan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kernaghan Spelling Variations

Because early scribes and church officials often spelled names as they sounded, a person could have many various spellings of his name.Many different spelling variations of the surname Kernaghan were found in the archives researched. These included Kernahan, Kernaghan, Carnahan, Carnaghan and others.

Early Notables of the Kernaghan family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

Kernaghan of Donegal

Kernaghan migration to the United States +

A massive wave of Irish immigrants hit North America during the 19th century. Although many early Irish immigrants made a carefully planned decision to leave left Ireland for the promise of free land, by the 1840s immigrants were fleeing a famine stricken land in desperation. The condition of Ireland during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s can be attributed to a rapidly expanding population and English imperial policies. Those Irish families that arrived in North America were essential to its rapid social, industrial, and economic development. Passenger and immigration lists have revealed a number of early Irish immigrants bearing the name Kernaghan:

Kernaghan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Robert Kernaghan, who arrived in New York, NY in 1815 2
Alexander Kernaghan who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1830
John Kernaghan (1840) and William Kernaghan (1856) settled in Philadelphia, PA

Kernaghan 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:

Kernaghan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

James Kernaghan, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Andrew Jackson" in 1865

Contemporary Notables of the name Kernaghan (post 1700) +

Mae W. Kernaghan, American politician, former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Charles Kernaghan (b. 1948), American executive director of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights
Mae W. Kernaghan, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1944 3
H. Kernaghan, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Mississippi, 1888 3
Alan Kernaghan (b. 1967), Irish former footballer
Mike Kernaghan (b. 1955), New Zealand bronze medalist lawn bowler at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
Ray Kernaghan, Australian country music artist, is the father of country music artists Lee Kernaghan and Tania Kernaghan and has twelve gold and two platinum records
Eileen Kernaghan (b. 1939), Canadian three-time Aurora Award winning novelist
Tania Maree Kernaghan (b. 1968), Australian country music singer
Lee Kernaghan OAM (b. 1964), Australian country music singer and songwriter

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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 6) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html