Mannix Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Mannix Family History

Mannix Family History

The ancient origin of the name Mannix was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The name Mannix has a number of variants including Manix, Manahan, O'Manahan, Minogue and Minnock. These Gaelic names are all derived from the O'Mainchin sept that was located in the southern part of County Cork and from the O'Muineog sept that was located in County Clare. The village of Ballyminogue still exists showing the exact location of this sept.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

When Gaelic names were anglicized during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries they were often changed to Anglo equivalents that sounded most like their original Gaelic name. This sept name is taken from the word 'manach' which translates as 'monk'. It is possible also that some bearers of the name Mannix may have originally rendered their name as Mannis and even McManus.The Mannix 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 Mannix descendants.