Comyn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

Etymology of Comyn

What does the name Comyn mean?

The surname Comyn comes from the old Irish Gaelic surname Ó Coimín, and has come to have many different English variants. The Gaelic name also appeared as Ó Comáin, especially in Munster.

Early Origins of the Comyn family

The surname Comyn was first found in Connacht (Irish: Connachta, (land of the) descendants of Conn), where the family were "erenaghs" (Administrators) of the church of St. Cuimín Fada. It is said that in the 6th century, St. Common, a pupil of St. Finian was a missionary in Connacht, founding a monastery in Roscommon. The parish of Kilcummin on the western side of the Bay of Killala is named after a family of this name.

Early History of the Comyn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Comyn research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1182, 1213, 1264, 1688, 1703, 1704, 1760 and 1786 are included under the topic Early Comyn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Comyn Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Cummins, Comines, Cummings, Comine, Cummin, Comyn, Cumming, Cummine, Cuming, Cumine, Cumyn, Cummyn, Commyn and many more.

Early Notables of the Comyn family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

Cormac O Cuimin (1703-1786), a blind bard and "shanachy" (poet). Michael Comyn (1688-1760) of Kilcorcoran, County Clare was also a poet

Comyn migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Comyn Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Comyn, who settled in Florida in 1769
Frederick Duke Comyn, who arrived in Florida in 1778

Contemporary Notables of the name Comyn (post 1700) +

William Leslie Comyn (b. 1877), American businessman, shipbuilder and builder of one of the first large concrete ships, direct descendant of Stephen George Comyn
Andrew Daniel "Dan" Comyn (1872-1949), Irish cricketer from County Galway, who played for Ireland 16 times between 1893 and 1904
Stephen George Comyn (1764-1839), English naval chaplain who served with Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and Battle of Copenhagen, said to be Nelson's favourite chaplain
Andrew Comyn (b. 1968), English former professional footballer from Wakefield, England who played from 1989 to 1996
Henry Hugh Comyn (1876-1937), English civil servant and sportsman, badminton mixed doubles champion in 1908, 1909 and 1910
John Francis Comyn (1742-1793), French aristocrat of French birth guillotined during the French Revolution
Nicholas Comyn Gatty (1874-1946), English composer and music critic, a close friend of Ralph Vaughan Williams
Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall (1835-1911), British civil servant, literary historian and poet