O'Luney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of O'Luney

What does the name O'Luney mean?

The Irish surnames in use today are underpinned by a multitude of rich histories. The name O'Luney originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Luinigh.

Early Origins of the O'Luney family

The surname O'Luney was first found in County Tyrone (Irish: Tír Eoghain), the ancient territory of the O'Neills, now in the Province of Ulster, central Northern Ireland, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the O'Luney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Luney research. Another 61 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Luney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Luney Spelling Variations

The recording of names in Ireland in the Middle Ages was an inconsistent endeavor at best. The many regional dialects and the predominate illiteracy would have made common surnames appear unrelated to the scribes of the period. Research into the name O'Luney revealed spelling variations, including Lunney, Lunnie, Looney, Loney, Lunny and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Luney family

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

Migration of the O'Luney family

In the late 18th century, Irish families began emigrating to North America in the search of a plot of land to call their own. This pattern of emigration grew steadily until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s cause thousands of Irish to flee the death and disease that accompanied the disaster. Those that made it alive to the shores of the United States and British North America (later to become Canada) were, however, instrumental in the development of those two powerful nations. Many of these Irish immigrants proudly bore the name of O'Luney: Hugh, John, and Pat Lunny who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1803 and 1839; Bernard, Felix, George, James and William Lunney all arrived in Philadelphia between 1856 and 1875.

The O'Luney Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Patriae infelici fidelis
Motto Translation: Faithful to an unhappy country.