Quinelly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Etymology of Quinelly

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

Early Origins of the Quinelly family

Early History of the Quinelly family

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

Quinelly Spelling Variations

Names written in official documents were generally spelt as they sounded, leading to the problem of one name being recorded under several different variations, creating the illusion in records of more than one person. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Quinelly that are preserved in documents of the family history are 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 Quinelly family

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

Migration of the Quinelly 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 Quinelly: 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.