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Noonan History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Noonan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

All Irish surnames have a unique and often romantic meaning. The name Noonan originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Nuadhain. The original Gaelic form of the name was Ó hIonmhaineain, which was originally derived from "ionmhain," meaning "beloved."

Early Origins of the Noonan family

The surname Noonan was first found in County Cork (Irish: Corcaigh) the ancient Kingdom of Deis Muin (Desmond), located on the southwest coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

"The name Noonan occurs chiefly in Cork, in which county the O'Noonans formerly dwelt.O'Noonan was a Chief in Duhallow Barony, and there were O'Noonans in Barrymore and Kinalea Baronies." 1

Early History of the Noonan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Noonan research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1172 and 1341 are included under the topic Early Noonan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Noonan Spelling Variations

The search for the origins of the name Noonan family name revealed numerous spelling variations. These variants can be somewhat accounted for when it is realized that before widespread literacy people only recognized their name by pronunciation; it was up to scribes to decide how it was to be formally recorded. Variations found include Noonan, O'Nunan, O'Noonan, Nunan, Neenan and others.

Early Notables of the Noonan family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

William O'Noonan, King's Surgeon

Noonan World Ranking

In the United States, the name Noonan is the 3,158^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 2 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Noonan is ranked the 659^th most popular surname with an estimated 67 people with that name. 3 And in Australia, the name Noonan is the 603^rd popular surname with an estimated 6,499 people with that name. 4

Noonan migration to the United States +

Thousands of Irish left in their homeland in the 18th and 19th centuries to escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, and in the search of a plot of land to call their own. These immigrants arrived at the eastern shores of North America, early on settling and breaking the land, and, later, building the bridges, canals, and railroads essential to the emerging nations of United States and Canada. Many others would toil for low wages in the dangerous factories of the day. Although there had been a steady migration of Irish to North America over these years, the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Noonan or a variant listed above:

Noonan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Richard Noonan, who landed in Morgan County, Illinois in 1838 5
Patrick Noonan, who landed in Mississippi in 1843 5
Edmund Noonan, who arrived in Mississippi in 1843 5
John Noonan, who landed in Mississippi in 1845 5
Henry Noonan, who landed in Mississippi in 1847 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Noonan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Noonan Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Thomas Noonan, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1752

Noonan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

James Noonan, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1804
John Hyacinth Noonan, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1815
Daniel Noonan, aged 26, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the barque "Independence" from Kinsale, Ireland
Catharine Noonan, aged 25, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the barque "Independence" from Kinsale, Ireland
John Noonan, aged 23, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the barque "Independence" from Kinsale, Ireland
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Noonan migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Noonan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Noonan, (b. 1807), aged 27, Irish labourer who was convicted in County Clare, Ireland for 7 years for manslaughter, transported aboard the "Blenheim" on 27th July 1834, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Maurice Noonan, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Birman" in 1840 7
John Noonan, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Orleana" in 1840 8
Mr. Patrick Noonan, (b. 1813), aged 31, Irish farm labourer who was convicted in Limerick, Ireland for life for murder, transported aboard the "Cadet" on 9th April 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
John Noonan, aged 38, a farm servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Marion" 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Noonan migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Noonan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Theresa Noonan, (b. 1861), aged 3 months, English settler, from Lancashire travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastopol" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th December 1861 11
Mr. Thomas Noonan, (b. 1840), aged 21, English carver, from Lancashire travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastopol" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th December 1861 11
Mrs. Emma Jane Noonan, (b. 1843), aged 18, English settler, from Lancashire travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastopol" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th December 1861 11
Mr. George Noonan, (b. 1844), aged 17, English labourer, from Lancashire travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastopol" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th December 1861 11
Daniel Noonan, aged 38, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Maori" in 1864
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Noonan (post 1700) +

John Thomas Noonan Jr. (1926-2017), American jurist, Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1996-2017)
Professor Emerita Jacqueline Anne Noonan (b. 1921), American pediatric cardiologist
Tom Noonan (b. 1951), American actor and film writer-director
Frederick Joseph Noonan (1893-1937), American aviation pioneer who disappeared with Amelia Earhart somewhere over the Pacific during their World Flight in 1937
Austin Noonan (1933-2022), Irish football player and manager who played for Cork Celtic and Cork Hibernians in the League of Ireland (1953-1969)
Michael J. Noonan (1935-2013), Irish Fianna Fáil politician, Minister for Defence (1987-1989)
Michael Noonan (b. 1943), Irish politician, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of Fine Gael from February 2001 to June 2002
Michael Anthony Noonan (1940-2023), New Zealand screenwriter, known for Close to Home (1975), The Governor (1977) and Section 7 (1972)
Thomas F Noonan (1861-1912), American jurist and prominent New Jersey Attorney, Judge, Democratic Party Leader
Katie Anne Noonan (b. 1977), Australian singer-songwriter

Historic Events for the Noonan family +

Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie)

Karen Elizabeth Noonan (1967-1988), American Student from Potomac, Maryland, America, who flew aboard the Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit, known as the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 and died 12

USS Arizona

Mr. Robert Harold Noonan, American Seaman First Class from Michigan, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 13

USS Belknap

Mr. Mark Gregory Noonan (1956-2018), American Hull Maintenance Technician, from Savage, Minnesota, United States was stationed aboard the USS Belknap when it struck the USS John F. Kennedy at sea on 22nd November 1975, he survived the collision and helped many of the injured crew

Citations +

Matheson, Robert E., Special Report on Surnames in Ireland with Notes as to Numeric Strength, Derivation, Ethnology, and Distribution. Dublin: Alexander Thom & Co., 1894. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blenheim
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BIRMAN 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Birman.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ORLEANA 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Orleana.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cadet/
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) MARION 1851 - HER HISTORY. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Marion.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Pan Am Flight 103's victims: A list of those killed 25 years ago | syracuse.com. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/12/pan_am_flight_103s_victims_a_list_of_those_killed_25_years_ago.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html