McMeeking History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Etymology of McMeeking

The Irish surname McMeeking was originally Ó Miadhachain in Irish Gaelic, which is derived from the word "miadhach," meaning "honorable." 1

Early Origins of the McMeeking family

Early History of the McMeeking family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McMeeking research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McMeeking History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McMeeking Spelling Variations

The scribes who created documents long before either the Gaelic or English language resembled their standardized versions of today recorded words as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages the names of many people were recorded under different spellings each time they were written down. Research on the McMeeking family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including O'Meehan, Meighan, MacMeehan, MacMeekin, MacMeekan,MacMehan, MacMehon and many more.

Early Notables of the McMeeking family

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

Migration of the McMeeking family

Under the rule of England, land ownership in Ireland changed dramatically, and many native Irish families found themselves renting out land to farm from absentee owners. This was one of the prime reasons that immigration to North America began in the late 18th century: Irish farmers dreamed of owning their own parcel of land to work for themselves. At this point, the immigrants were at least of modest means for the passage across the Atlantic was often quite dear. In the 1840s the Great Potato Famine created an exodus of people of quite different means. These people were most often destitute: they either sold anything they had to gain a passage or they were sponsored by philanthropic societies. Many of these immigrants were sick from disease and starvation: as a result many did not survive the long transatlantic journey. Although those settlers that did survive were often despised and discriminated against by people already established in these nations, they were critical to rapid development of the powerful industrial nations of the United States and the country that would later become known as Canada. An examination of immigration and passenger lists shows many persons bearing the name of McMeeking or one of its variants: Owen McMehan, who settled in Philadelphia in 1845; Juda and Felix McMean settled in Boston in 1768.