McNamar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Surnames of Irish origin have experienced many changes in their spellings and forms. Before being translated into English, McNamar appeared as Mac Conmara, which means "hound of the sea" or "warrior of the sea."

Early Origins of the McNamar family

The surname McNamar was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where MacConmara or MacNamara was chief of the territory of Clan Caisin, now the barony of Tullagh. The family was also sometimes styled chiefs of Clan Cuilean; derived from Cuilean, one of their chiefs in the eighth century. This ancient family have traditionally held the high office of hereditary marshals of Thomond.

Early History of the McNamar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McNamar research. Another 136 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1402, 1426, 1768, 1797 and 1826 are included under the topic Early McNamar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McNamar Spelling Variations

Within archives, many different spelling variations exist for the surname McNamar. Ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in the name of the single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include McNamara, McNamar, McNamarra, McNamard, Sheedy and many more.

Early Notables of the McNamar family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

Admiral James McNamara (1768-1826)

McNamar migration to the United States +

North America accepted thousands of Irish immigrants during the 19th century as their homeland suffered under foreign imperialistic rule. Although settlers from the early portion of the century came to North America by choice in search of land, by far the largest influx of Irish immigrants came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Many of these Irish families left the country destitute and in some cases suffering from disease. However, those who survived the long ocean voyage were especially vital to the development of industry in the United States and what would become known as Canada. Research of immigration and passenger lists has shown many early immigrants bearing the name McNamar:

McNamar Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James McNamar, aged 20, who landed in America in 1822 1
William McNamar, aged 18, who arrived in America in 1822 1

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)