MacCannon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Etymology of MacCannon

While the Anglicized versions of Irish names are often familiar to people, their Irish Gaelic heritage is often unknown. The original Gaelic form of the name MacCannon is Ó Canain, from the word "cano," which means "wolf cub." 1

Early Origins of the MacCannon family

Early History of the MacCannon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacCannon research. Another 156 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1500, 1659 and 1687 are included under the topic Early MacCannon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

MacCannon Spelling Variations

The recording of names in Ireland in the Middle Ages was an inconsistent endeavor at best. The many regional dialects and the predominate illiteracy would have made common surnames appear unrelated to the scribes of the period. Research into the name MacCannon revealed spelling variations, including Cannon, O'Cannon, MacCannon, Cannan, Cannen, Cannin, MacCannan, McCannon, McCannan and many more.

Early Notables of the MacCannon family

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

Migration of the MacCannon family

Irish families began to immigrate to British North America and the United States in the 18th century, but the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. The earlier settlers came to North America after a great deal of consideration and by paying relatively high fees for their passage. These settlers were primarily drawn by the promise of land. Those later settlers that came during the 1840's were trying to escape the conditions of poverty, starvation, disease, and death that had stricken Ireland. Due to the enormity of their numbers and the late date of their arrival, these immigrants primarily became hired laborers instead of homesteading settlers like their predecessors. An exhaustive search of immigration and passenger lists has revealed many Irish immigrants North America bearing the name MacCannon: Edward and Ann Cannon who settled in Virginia in 1646; John Cannon settled in Barbados in 1660; another John settled in Jamaica in 1716; Alexander, Andrew, Anthony, Barney, Bernard, Bridget, Charles, Cornelius, Daniel Dennis, Edward, Ennis, George, Hugh, James, John, Mannis, Michael, Neal, Owen, Patrick, Philip, Thomas and William Cannon all settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1772 and 1866.