McWhinny History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name McWhinny is Mac Suibhne, which is derived from the word "suibhne," which means "pleasant."

Early Origins of the McWhinny family

The surname McWhinny was first found in County Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall), northwest Ireland in the province of Ulster, sometimes referred to as County Tyrconnel. The name is derived from Suibhne O'Neill, who was a chieftain in Argyll, Scotland. His descendants migrated to Ireland as gallowglasses (mercenaries) prior to 1267. The three great septs of this name finally established themselves in Tirconnell in 14th century; they were known as MacSweeney Fanad, MacSweeney Banagh, and MacSweeney na dTuath, who were commonly referred to as 'MacSweeney of the Battleaxes.' They later became attached to the MacCarthys in the south and acquired their own territories and castles in Muskerry in County Cork.

Early History of the McWhinny family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McWhinny research. Another 69 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1299 and 1310 are included under the topic Early McWhinny History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McWhinny Spelling Variations

Irish names were rarely spelled consistently in the Middle Ages. Spelling variations of the name McWhinny dating from that time include MacSweeney, MacSweeny, MacSwine, MacSwiney, MacSwyne, MacSwyny, MacWhinney, MacWhinny, MacWhinnie, MacSwiny, McSweeney, Swiney, Swinney and many more.

Early Notables of the McWhinny family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was John MacSween, a 13th-14th century nobleman who lost his lands in Scotland after the defeat of the forces and death of Alexander Og MacDonald, Lord of Islay in 1299. In...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McWhinny Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McWhinny migration to the United States +

A massive amount of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century for North America and Australia in hopes of finding more opportunities and an escape from discrimination and oppression. A great portion of these migrants arrived on the eastern shores of the North American continent. Although they were generally poor and destitute, and, therefore, again discriminated against, these Irish people were heartily welcomed for the hard labor involved in the construction of railroads, canals, roadways, and buildings. Many others were put to work in the newly established factories or agricultural projects that were so essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s initiated the largest wave of Iris immigration. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name McWhinny or a variant listed above:

McWhinny Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John H McWhinny, aged 20, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1820-1873 1
Thomas McWhinny, who settled in Philadelphia in 1851

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)