Minchin Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Minchin Family History

Minchin Family History

The Minchin ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. The name Minchin is of ancient origin in England where it is derived from the word 'minchen' meaning 'a nun'. The name became well established in Ireland during the sixteenth century especially in the area around Roscrea in Counties Tipperary and Offaly. An abbreviated form of this name is Minch which is mostly associated with County Kildare. Other variant forms of this name include Minnis and McNiece which are also derived from the Gaelic McNaois 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.

Minchin and the other variant names can also be found in some numbers in Ulster Province. The Minchin 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 Minchin descendants.