Nerney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Family Crest Image (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

The many Irish surnames in use today have long rich histories behind them. The name Nerney originally appeared in Gaelic as Mac an Airchinnigh, which means son of the erenagh. The word erenagh refers to a steward of church lands. This was originally an ecclesiastical task, but was later performed by laymen, becoming a hereditary trade.

Early Origins of the Nerney family

The surname Nerney was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Important Dates for the Nerney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nerney research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Nerney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nerney Spelling Variations

Official documents, crafted by early scribes and church officials, primarily contained names that were spelled according to their pronunciation. This lead to the problem of one name being recorded under several different variations, creating an illusion that a single person was many people. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Nerney that are preserved in the archival documents of the time are MacInerny, MacInerney, Nerney, Kinnerk, Nerheny, Nertney, Nirney, McNertney, MacNertney, MacNerney and many more.

Early Notables of the Nerney family (pre 1700)

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

Migration of the Nerney family

Irish families began leaving their homeland for North America in the late 18th century. These families were usually modestly well off, but they were looking forward to owning and working on a sizable tract of land of their own. This pattern of emigration continued until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine sparked a major exodus of destitute and desperate Irish people. These people were not leaving for a grant of land in North America because by this time the East Coast had reached its saturation point and free land was scarce. They were merely looking to escape the disease, starvation, and hopelessness that Ireland had fallen into. Although these unfortunate immigrants did not receive a warm welcome by the established populations in the United States and what would become Canada, they were absolutely critical to the rapid development that these two nations enjoyed. They would help populate the western lands and provide the cheap labor required for a rapid industrialization. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many early bearers of the name Nerney or one of its variants: Pat and Thomas McInerheny settled in Canada in 1847; Dennis, John, and Margaret McInerny arrived in Philadelphia in 1854; Denis, John, and Thomas McInnerney arrived in Philadelphia in 1866..

Contemporary Notables of the name Nerney (post 1700)

Gloria P. Nerney, American Republican politician, Candidate for Rhode Island State House of Representatives 44th District, 2002 ^[1]
De Clan Nerney (b. 1959), Irish singer of the Country and Irish genre, perhaps best known for his autobiographical song "The Marquee in Drumlish"