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Gaines History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Sources

Gaines History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Gaines

What does the name Gaines mean?

Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name Gaines is "Mag Fhionnbhairr," which is derived from the word "fionnbharr," which means "fair head." 1

The Mc Geaney and O'Geaney variants were originally Geibheannaigh in Gaelic which roughly translates to "fettered" in English. These branches were typically found in Co. Cork and Co. Roscommon. 1

Early Origins of the Gaines family

The surname Gaines was first found in county Longford (Irish: An Longfort) traditionally known as Annaly or Teffia, and situated in the Irish Midlands, in Northwest Leinster. 2

They claim descent through the Line of Ir, Irish kings and one source notes the Gaynor variant as originally Geraadhan in Gaelic. However, the same source claims the name could have been MacFinbhair, which matches the aforementioned entry. 3

Early History of the Gaines family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gaines research. Another 64 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Gaines History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gaines Spelling Variations

Numerous spelling variations of the surname Gaines exist. A partial explanation for these variants is that ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include Gaynor, Gainor, Gainer, Gaines, Gains, McGaynor and others.

Early Notables of the Gaines family

More information is included under the topic Early Gaines Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gaines Ranking

In the United States, the name Gaines is the 548^th most popular surname with an estimated 52,227 people with that name. 4

Gaines migration to the United States +

The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish migrating out of their homeland in a great measure due to the oppressive imperial policies of the English government and landowners. Many of these Irish families sailed to North America aboard overcrowded passenger ships. By far, the largest influx of Irish immigrants to North America occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. These particular immigrants were instrumental in creation of the United States and Canada as major industrial nations because the many essential elements such as the roadways, canals, bridges, and railways required an enormous quantity of cheap labor, which these poor immigrants provided. Later generations of Irish in these countries also went on to make valuable contributions in such fields as the arts, commerce, politics, and education. Extensive research into immigration and passenger lists has revealed many early immigrants bearing the name Gaines:

Gaines Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Gaines, who settled in Maryland in 1634
Thomas Gaines, who arrived in Virginia in 1650 5
Bernard Gaines, who settled in Virginia in 1654
David Gaines who arrived in Nevis in 1663
Tho Gaines, who landed in Virginia in 1663 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gaines Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Martha Gaines, who arrived in Virginia in 1700 5
John Gaines, who landed in Virginia in 1706 5
William Gaines, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 5
James Gaines, who arrived in Virginia in 1745 5

Gaines Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

W. H. Gaines, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1822
William B P Gaines, who landed in Texas in 1835 5
Thomson C Gaines, who landed in Texas in 1835 5
W M Gaines, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
Mrs. L Gaines, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gaines migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Gaines Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. George Gaines, English convict who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 9th May 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
John Gaines, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Aden" in 1849 7
Catherine Gaines, aged 20, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Velocity"

Contemporary Notables of the name Gaines (post 1700) +

Gene Gaines (1938-2023), American CFL defensive back for for the Ottawa Rough Riders and Montreal Alouettes, inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Gary Gaines (1949-2022), American head football coach of the 1988 Permian High School football team, inspiration for the H. G. Bissinger book Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team and a Dream, and the 2004 motion picture Friday Night Lights starring Billy Bob Thornton
Grady Gaines (1934-2021), American electric blues, Texas blues and jazz blues tenor saxophonist
David "Smokey" Gaines (1942-2020), American basketball player and coach who played professionally for three games for the Kentucky Colonels during the 1967-68 after a four-year stint with the Harlem Globetrotters
William Chester Gaines (1933-2016), American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune
LaDonna Adrian Gaines (1948-2012), known by the stage name Donna Summer, American five-time Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter, the "The Queen of Disco"
William "Bill" Maxwell Gaines (1922-1992), American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics
Edmund Pendleton Gaines (1777-1849), United States army officer, eponym of Fort Gaines, Alabama and the CSS Gaines
Ernest James Gaines (b. 1933), award-winning American novelist and short story writer
Steven Earl Gaines (1949-1977), American musician most well-known as a guitarist and songwriter for southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sources +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0)
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Aden from London via Plymouth Adealide Arriving September 12th 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849AdenRegister.htm