McNamarra 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, McNamarra appeared as Mac Conmara, which means "hound of the sea" or "warrior of the sea."

Early Origins of the McNamarra family

The surname McNamarra 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 McNamarra family

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

McNamarra Spelling Variations

One must realize that attempting to record a Gaelic name in English was a daunting task. Even today the translation is a difficult one. Names, therefore, often had many spelling variations. The variations of the name McNamarra include: McNamara, McNamar, McNamarra, McNamard, Sheedy and many more.

Early Notables of the McNamarra family

Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McNamarra Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McNamarra migration to the United States +

Suffering from poverty and racial discrimination, thousands of Irish families left the island in the 19th century for North America aboard cramped passenger ships. The early migrants became settlers of small tracts of land, and those that came later were often employed in the new cities or transitional work camps. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Although the immigrants from this period were often maligned when they arrived in the United States, they provided the cheap labor that was necessary for the development of that country as an industrial power. Early immigration and passenger lists have revealed many immigrants bearing the name McNamarra:

McNamarra Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Bridget McNamarra, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1744 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)