Onneyle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Etymology of Onneyle

Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name Onneyle is Ó Néill, which means descendant of Niall, a personal name of Irish origin, thought to mean "champion." 1

"Of the very great antiquity of this distinguished name and family there can be no doubt." 2

Onneyle Coat of Arms Creation

Two brothers of the race of Colla Uais saw the Isle of Islay from their native Ireland, and both, at the same time, resolved to possess it. Each got his birlinn ready with its full comple-ment of men, and the race began. When within a short distance of landing, one galley was a length ahead ; whereupon the brother in the galley behind, seeing that the race was about to be won by the other, placed his left hand on the gunwale and, with his own sword, cut it off and threw it ashore, saying as he did so, " Tha m' fhuil agus m' fheoil air tir romhad" ("My flesh and my blood are ashore ahead of you "). 3

Early Origins of the Onneyle family

Early History of the Onneyle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Onneyle research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1480, 1530, 1550, 1559, 1567, 1612, 1616, 1664, 1689 and 1694 are included under the topic Early Onneyle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Onneyle Spelling Variations

Pronunciation, rather than spelling, guided scribes and church officials when recording names during the Middle Ages. This practice often resulted in one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname Onneyle are preserved in these old documents. The various spellings of the name that were found include O'Neill, Neal, Neale, Neales, Neil, Nihill, Niell, O'Nail, O'Neil, O'Niel and many more.

Early Notables of the Onneyle family

Sir Niall O'Neill who distinguished himself at the Battle of the Boyne; Conn O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone (c.1480-1559) King of Tir Eogain; Shane O'Neill (c.1530-1567), Irish king of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster; Hugh O'Neill (c. 1550-1616), Earl of Tyrone, also known as the Great Earl, Leader of the resistance during the Nine Years War...
Another 56 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Onneyle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Onneyle family

A massive amount of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century for North America and Australia in hopes of finding more opportunities and an escape from discrimination and oppression. A great portion of these migrants arrived on the eastern shores of the North American continent. Although they were generally poor and destitute, and, therefore, again discriminated against, these Irish people were heartily welcomed for the hard labor involved in the construction of railroads, canals, roadways, and buildings. Many others were put to work in the newly established factories or agricultural projects that were so essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s initiated the largest wave of Iris immigration. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name Onneyle or a variant listed above: Captain James Neale (1615-1684) who arrived about 1635 in Maryland and received 1,000 acres of land, many of his descendants became Jesuit priests; Edward Neal settled in Boston in 1849.