Kearney Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Kearney Family History

Kearney Family History

The ancient origin of the name Kearney was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Kearney include O'Kearney and Carney. These names are derived from the Gaelic O'Catharnaigh and O'Cearnaigh septs that were located in County Meath and Connaught Province respectively. As Carney the name is almost totally confined to Connaught, and particularly to County Mayo. The most important Kearney sept in history were Chiefs of Teffia, County Meath, and even when their influence diminished they retained a considerable territory in Kilcoursey in County Offaly and later in County Tipperary. Five Kearneys of Irish origin are recorded in the Dictionary of American Biography in the sphere of politics, literature and warfare. The family of John Kearny of Fethard, who was secretary to James II, were very prominent in the French court and legal circles during the eighteenth century.The Kearney family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Kearney descendants.