O'Hinegan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Etymology of O'Hinegan

Throughout history, very few Irish surnames have exclusively maintained their original forms. Before being translated into English, O'Hinegan appeared as Ó Dubhain, where the name means a "dark complexioned man." (O'Hart)

Early Origins of the O'Hinegan family

Early History of the O'Hinegan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Hinegan research. Another 190 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1549, 1612, 1628, 1675, 1679, 1717, 1720, 1724, 1727 and 1735 are included under the topic Early O'Hinegan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Hinegan Spelling Variations

Before widespread literacy came to Ireland, a name was often recorded under several different variations during the life of its bearer. Accordingly, numerous spelling variations were revealed in the search for the origin of the name O'Hinegan family name. Variations found include Downs, Down, Downe, Downes and others.

Early Notables of the O'Hinegan family

William Ducie (c. 1612-1679), created 1st Viscount Downe in 1675; Andrew Downes, also known as Dounaeus, (c.1549-1628), English classical scholar, one of the seven translators of the Apocrypha for the King James Version of the Bible...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Hinegan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the O'Hinegan family

To escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, thousands of Irish left their homeland in the 19th century. These migrants typically settled in communities throughout the East Coast of North America, but also joined the wagon trains moving out to the Midwest. Ironically, when the American War of Independence began, many Irish settlers took the side of England, and at the war's conclusion moved north to Canada. These United Empire Loyalists, were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Other Irish immigrants settled in Newfoundland, the Ottawa Valley, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, however, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America and Australia. Many of those numbers, however, did not live through the long sea passage. These Irish settlers to North America were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name O'Hinegan or a variant listed above, including: Jane Downe who settled in Jamaica in 1685; John Downe settled in Barbados in 1685; another John Downe settled in Virginia in 1670; Robert Downe settled in St. Christopher in 1635.