McKeney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Etymology of McKeney

The original Gaelic form of McKeney was Mac Cionaoith.

Early Origins of the McKeney family

Early History of the McKeney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McKeney research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1544 is included under the topic Early McKeney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McKeney Spelling Variations

Many spelling variations of the surname McKeney can be found in the archives. One reason for these variations is that ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. The different spellings that were found include MacKenna, MacKennagh, MacKenney, MacKenny, MacKinna, MacKinnie and many more.

Early Notables of the McKeney family

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

Migration of the McKeney family

In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the McKeney family came to North America quite early: Andrew, Arthur, Charles, Edward, James, John, Michael, Owen, Patrick, Peter and Thomas McKenna all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860; Alice, Daniel, James, John, Thomas and William McKenney settled in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.