MacElheeny Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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The surname MacElheeny comes from the Irish Mac Giolla Chainnigh, meaning the son of a servant or devotee of St. Canice, also known as St. Kenny. The place name Kilkenny, is also derived from the saint; in Irish it is Cill Chainnigh, meaning the church of St. Canice.

MacElheeny Early Origins

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The surname MacElheeny was first found in County Derry, where the sept was of the Cenel Eoghain group. The St. Canice branch of whom they were originally followers, came from Dromachose, County Derry. One of the earliest records of the name is of David de Kilkenny, who was Bishop of Achonry, County Sligo (1312 to 1344.) Ironically the name is not taken from the town in Leinster or the county named Kilkenny. References to the surname were rare throughout history.

MacElheeny Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Kilkenny, MacKilkenny, MacElhinny, MacElheeny, MacIlhenny and many more.

MacElheeny Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacElheeny research. Another 171 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1690 and 1866 are included under the topic Early MacElheeny History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

MacElheeny Early Notables (pre 1700)

Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early MacElheeny Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: a Mic Kilkeny, who settled in the Red River Settlement in Canada in 1812; Edward Kilkenny, who was listed as a British Alien in New York during the War of 1812.

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Citations

^ MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0)

Other References

Magnusson, Magnus. Chambers Biographical Dictionary 5th edition. Edinburgh: W & R Chambers, 1990. Print.
MacLysaght, Edward. The Surnames of Ireland 3rd Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1978. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2278-0).
Bullock, L.G. Historical Map of Ireland. Edinburgh: Bartholomew and Son, 1969. Print.
Leyburn, James Graham. The Scotch-Irish A Social History. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1962. Print. (ISBN 0807842591).
MacLysaght, Edward. Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7).
Sullivan, Sir Edward. The Book of Kells 3rd Edition. New York: Crescent Books, 1986. Print. (ISBN 0-517-61987-3).
Chadwick, Nora Kershaw and J.X.W.P Corcoran. The Celts. London: Penguin, 1970. Print. (ISBN 0140212116).
Read, Charles Anderson. The Cabinet of Irish Literature Selections from the Works of the Chief Poets, Orators and Prose Writers of Ireland 4 Volumes. London: Blackie and Son, 1884. Print.
Land Owners in Ireland. Genealogical Publishing. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-1203-3).
Bell, Robert. The Book of Ulster Surnames. Belfast: Blackstaff, 1988. Print. (ISBN 10-0856404160).
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The MacElheeny Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The MacElheeny Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 8 July 2014 at 15:24.