Show ContentsKinneary History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

All Irish surnames have a long, ancient Gaelic history behind them. The original Gaelic form of the name Kinneary is Ó Cinnfhaolaidh, which is derived from "ceann," which means "head," and "faol," which means "wolf." [1]

Early Origins of the Kinneary family

The surname Kinneary was first found in Limerick (Irish: Luimneach) located in Southwestern Ireland, in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat as chiefs in the barony of Connello, from olden times up to the 12th century when they were dispersed by the Anglo Norman invasion by Strongbow, the Earl of Pembroke in 1172.

Early History of the Kinneary family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kinneary research. Another 111 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1800 is included under the topic Early Kinneary History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kinneary 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 Kinneary were found in the archives researched. These included Kinneally, Kinealy, Kinnelly, Kinnelley, Kinneley, Kinelly, Kinelley, Kenealy, O'Kinnealy, O'Kinnelly, O'Kinelly, O'Kinneley, O'Kennelly, O'Kenelly, Kennelly, Kenelly, Kennealy, Keneally, O'Kennealy, O'Kenneally, Quinelly, O'Quinelly, O'Quinelley, Kenneallagh, Keneallagh, Kenealagh, O'Kenealagh, O'Kenealagh, Kinneary, Kineary, O'Kinneary and many more.

Early Notables of the Kinneary family

More information is included under the topic Early Kinneary Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Kinneary migration to the United States +

In the 18th and 19th centuries, thousands of Irish families fled an Ireland that was forcibly held through by England through its imperialistic policies. A large portion of these families crossed the Atlantic to the shores of North America. The fate of these families depended on when they immigrated and the political allegiances they showed after they arrived. Settlers that arrived before the American War of Independence may have moved north to Canada at the war's conclusion as United Empire Loyalists. Such Loyalists were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Those that fought for the revolution occasionally gained the land that the fleeing Loyalist vacated. After this period, free land and an agrarian lifestyle were not so easy to come by in the East. So when seemingly innumerable Irish immigrants arrived during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s, free land for all was out of the question. These settlers were instead put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Whenever they came, Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Kinneary or a variant listed above, including:

Kinneary Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Michael Kinneary, who settled in Philadelphia in 1873

Contemporary Notables of the name Kinneary (post 1700) +

  • Joseph P. Kinneary, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1952; U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, 1961 [2]


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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