O'Kenneally History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Etymology of O'Kenneally

All Irish surnames have a long, ancient Gaelic history behind them. The original Gaelic form of the name O'Kenneally is Ó Cinnfhaolaidh, which is derived from "ceann," which means "head," and "faol," which means "wolf." 1

Early Origins of the O'Kenneally family

Early History of the O'Kenneally family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Kenneally research. Another 111 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1800 is included under the topic Early O'Kenneally History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Kenneally Spelling Variations

Numerous spelling variations of the surname O'Kenneally exist. A partial explanation for these variants is that ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include Kinneally, Kinealy, Kinnelly, Kinnelley, Kinneley, Kinelly, Kinelley, Kenealy, O'Kinnealy, O'Kinnelly, O'Kinelly, O'Kinneley, O'Kennelly, O'Kenelly, Kennelly, Kenelly, Kennealy, Keneally, O'Kennealy, O'Kenneally, Quinelly, O'Quinelly, O'Quinelley, Kenneallagh, Keneallagh, Kenealagh, O'Kenealagh, O'Kenealagh, Kinneary, Kineary, O'Kinneary and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Kenneally family

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

Migration of the O'Kenneally family

Irish families began to immigrate to British North America and the United States in the 18th century, but the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. The earlier settlers came to North America after a great deal of consideration and by paying relatively high fees for their passage. These settlers were primarily drawn by the promise of land. Those later settlers that came during the 1840's were trying to escape the conditions of poverty, starvation, disease, and death that had stricken Ireland. Due to the enormity of their numbers and the late date of their arrival, these immigrants primarily became hired laborers instead of homesteading settlers like their predecessors. An exhaustive search of immigration and passenger lists has revealed many Irish immigrants North America bearing the name O'Kenneally: Michael Kinneary arrived in Philadelphia in 1873; John Kennelly arrived in Virginia 1774; John Kennelly arrived in Quebec in 1825 and later moved to Lindsay, Ontario. Patrick and Mary Kennelly arrived in Boston Mass in 1849.