Throughout history, very few Irish surnames have exclusively maintained their original forms. Before being translated into English, O'Hinneghan appeared as O Dubhain, where the first portion of the word is dubh, which means black, and the second portion is probably derived from some obsolete Irish personal name.
Early Origins of the O'Hinneghan family
The surname O'Hinneghan was first found in County Sligo
(Irish: Sligeach), in the province of Connacht
in Northwestern Ireland
, from very ancient times.
Early History of the O'Hinneghan family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Hinneghan research.Another 379 words (27 lines of text) covering the years 1612, 1679, 1675, 1549, 1628, 1735, 1727, 1735, 1724, 1727, 1720, 1724, 1717 and 1720 are included under the topic Early O'Hinneghan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
O'Hinneghan Spelling Variations
Irish names were rarely spelled consistently in the Middle Ages. Spelling variations
of the name O'Hinneghan dating from that time include Downs, Down, Downe, Downes and others.
Early Notables of the O'Hinneghan family (pre 1700)
Notable among the family name at this time was William Ducie (c.
1612-1679), created 1st Viscount Downe in 1675; Andrew Downes, also known as Dounaeus, (c.1549-1628), English classical scholar, one of the seven translators of the... Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Hinneghan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the O'Hinneghan family to the New World and Oceana
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 O'Hinneghan or a variant listed above: Jane Downe who settled in Jamaica in 1685; John Downe settled in Barbados in 1685; another John Downe settled in Virginia in 1670; Robert Downe settled in St. Christopher in 1635.