Show ContentsO'Noonan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

All Irish surnames have a unique and often romantic meaning. The name O'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 O'Noonan family

The surname O'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 O'Noonan family

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

O'Noonan Spelling Variations

Because early scribes and church officials often spelled names as they sounded, a person could have many various spellings of his name.Many different spelling variations of the surname O'Noonan were found in the archives researched. These included Noonan, O'Nunan, O'Noonan, Nunan, Neenan and others.

Early Notables of the O'Noonan family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

  • William O'Noonan, King's Surgeon


O'Noonan migration to the United States +

A massive wave of Irish immigrants hit North America during the 19th century. Although many early Irish immigrants made a carefully planned decision to leave left Ireland for the promise of free land, by the 1840s immigrants were fleeing a famine stricken land in desperation. The condition of Ireland during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s can be attributed to a rapidly expanding population and English imperial policies. Those Irish families that arrived in North America were essential to its rapid social, industrial, and economic development. Passenger and immigration lists have revealed a number of early Irish immigrants bearing the name O'Noonan:

O'Noonan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Anthony, Daniel, John, Michael and Patrick O'Noonan all, who arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860


  1. 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


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