McLenachan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland
• England

Etymology of McLenachan

The Anglo-Norman Conquest of Ireland lead by Strongbow introduced the first non-Gaelic elements into Irish nomenclature. These Anglo-Normans brought some traditions to Ireland that were not readily found within Gaelic system of hereditary surnames. One of the best examples of this is the local surname. Local surnames, such as McLenachan, were taken from the name of a place or a geographical feature where the person lived, held land, or was born. These surnames were very common in England, but were almost non-existent within Ireland previous to the conquest. Originally, these place names were prefixed by "de," which means "from" in French. This type of prefix was eventually either made a part of the surname, if the place name began with a vowel, or was eliminated entirely. The McLenachan family originally lived in the settlement of Llanaghan, which is in the Welsh county of Brecon.

Early Origins of the McLenachan family

Early History of the McLenachan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McLenachan research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1249 is included under the topic Early McLenachan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McLenachan Spelling Variations

During the lifetime of an individual person, his name was often spelt by church officials and medieval scribes the way it sounded. An examination of the many different origins of each name has revealed many spelling variations for the name: Lanigan, Lanahan, Lenaghan, Lanaghan, Linehan and many more.

Early Notables of the McLenachan family

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

Migration of the McLenachan family

In the mid-19th century, Ireland experienced one of the worst periods in its entire history. During this decade in order to ease the pressure of the soil, which was actually depleted by the effects of the previous years' grain crops, landowners forced tenant farmers and peasants onto tiny plots of land that barely provided the basic sustenance a family required. Conditions were worsened, though, by the population of the country, which was growing fast to roughly eight million. So when the Great Potato Famine of the mid-1840s hit, starvation and diseases decimated the population. Thousands of Irish families left the country for British North America and the United States. The new immigrants were often accommodated either in the opening western frontiers or as cheap unskilled labor in the established centers. In early passenger and immigration lists there are many immigrants bearing the name McLenachan: Michael Lanagan, who came to Newfoundland in 1814; Edward Lanaghan, who arrived at St. John, New Brunswick in 1834; Cornelius, Biddy and George Lanagan, who all arrived in Philadelphia in 1828.