McConkie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

The original Gaelic form of the name McConkie is Óconnachtaigh. This name can be considered a place name as it indicates that its original bearer inhabited Connaught. The prefix O, meaning '"grandson of" indicates descent from the original bearer.

Early Origins of the McConkie family

The surname McConkie was first found in County Donegal with the MacSweenys. That name is derived from Suibhne O'Neill, who was a chieftain in Argyll, Scotland. His descendants migrated to Ireland as gallowglasses (mercenaries) prior to 1267. The three great septs of this name finally established themselves in Tirconnell in 14th century; they were known as MacSweeney Fanad, MacSweeney Banagh, and MacSweeney na dTuath, who were commonly referred to as 'MacSweeney of the Battleaxes.'

Early History of the McConkie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McConkie research. Another 182 words (13 lines of text) covering the year 1893 is included under the topic Early McConkie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McConkie Spelling Variations

Names written in official documents were generally spelt as they sounded, leading to the problem of one name being recorded under several different variations, creating the illusion in records of more than one person. Among the many spelling variations of the surname McConkie that are preserved in documents of the family history are Conaty, O'Conaty, Connaghty, Connoty, MacConaghy, MacConkey and many more.

Early Notables of the McConkie family

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

Migration of the McConkie family

The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish migrating out of their homeland in a great measure due to the oppressive imperial policies of the English government and landowners. Many of these Irish families sailed to North America aboard overcrowded passenger ships. By far, the largest influx of Irish immigrants to North America occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. These particular immigrants were instrumental in creation of the United States and Canada as major industrial nations because the many essential elements such as the roadways, canals, bridges, and railways required an enormous quantity of cheap labor, which these poor immigrants provided. Later generations of Irish in these countries also went on to make valuable contributions in such fields as the arts, commerce, politics, and education. Extensive research into immigration and passenger lists has revealed many early immigrants bearing the name McConkie: John McConaghty, age 26, who arrived in Quebec in 1834; Alexander McConaghy, who settled in Allegheny County, Pa. in 1844; Jas MacConnaghy, who arrived in New York City in 1811.

Contemporary Notables of the name McConkie (post 1700) +

Oscar Walter McConkie Jr. (1926-2020), American politician and attorney in Utah and leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Joseph Fielding McConkie (1941-2013), American academic and author, emeritus professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University (BYU)