McGinnis Coat of Arms, Family Crest and McGinnis Family History

McGinnis Family History

The McGinnis ancient family history 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 McGinnis include McGenis, McGuinness, Guinness, Magennis and Kinch. Kinch is the Manx form of McGuinness. The modern spelling of this name is usually McGuinness or Magennis. Like the chiefs of many of the great Irish septs Magennis took advantage of the English policy of 'surrender and regrant' early in the seventeenth century. Before this they were often at loggerheads with the ecclesiastical authorities and they showed a tendency to accept the tenets of the Reformation. Conforming bishops included two Magennises - one of the diocese of Down, the other of Dromore. However, by 1598 the Magennis chief, whose father was officially regarded as 'the civillest of all the Irish in these parts', had joined Tyrone, his brother-in-law, and thus 'returned to the rudeness of the country'.The McGinnis 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 McGinnis descendants.