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

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

The surname O'Nunend 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'Nunend family

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

O'Nunend Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, a standardized literary language known by the general population of Ireland was a thing of fiction. When a person's name was recorded by one of the few literate scribes, it was up that particular scribe to decide how to spell an individual's name. So a person could have several spelling variations of his name recorded during a single lifetime. Research into the name O'Nunend revealed many variations, including Noonan, O'Nunan, O'Noonan, Nunan, Neenan and others.

Early Notables of the O'Nunend family

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

Migration of the O'Nunend family

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 O'Nunend or a variant listed above: James, John, and Patrick Nonan who arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1870; Bartholomew, Cornelius, Daniel, Edward, John, Judy, Michael, Peter, and Thomas Noonan all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1870.



  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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