Contents [hide]

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

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Sources

Gunning History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Gunning

What does the name Gunning mean?

The Gunning surname is an Anglicization of the Gaelic Ó Conaing or "descendant of Conaing," a Gaelic personal name. The Castleconnell (the Castle of Connell) is said to be a mistranslation and should in fact be the Castle Gunning.

Early Origins of the Gunning family

The surname Gunning was first found in at Castleconnell, where they were a Sept of the Ui Bloid, and were said to be descended from a brother of Brian Boru. The village of Castleconnell, took its name from the castle, which was built on a rock outcrop overlooking the Shannon river, where it separates County Clare from Tipperary.

The Annals of Loch Cé list and Edmund O'Conaing as the "royal heir of Munster" in 1032; and Domhnall O'Conaing (d. 1137) as "chief Bishop of Leath Mogha." Other early records include Dermot O'Conaing (d. 1195), Bishop of Killaloe, and Peter O'Conyng, who was Abbot of Holy Cross in 1297.

Early History of the Gunning family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gunning research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1733, 1734, 1760 and 1790 are included under the topic Early Gunning History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gunning Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gunning, O'Gunning, Gunnin, O'Conaing and others.

Early Notables of the Gunning family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

Elizabeth Gunning (1734-1790), who married two dukes and was the mother of four dukes

Gunning Ranking

In the United States, the name Gunning is the 12,046^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Gunning migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gunning Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Barth Gunning, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 2
John Gunning, who settled in Salem Massachusetts in 1799

Gunning Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Robert R Gunning, who landed in America in 1802 2
David Gunning, aged 60, who landed in Tennessee in 1812 2
William Gunning, who arrived in America in 1818 2
Robert Gunning, who settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1822
William Peter Gunning, aged 16, who landed in New York in 1831 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gunning migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gunning Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Thomas Gunning, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1834
Mrs. Catherine Gunning, aged 38 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Thompson" departing 5th May 1847 from Sligo, Ireland; the ship arrived on 14th June 1847 but she died on board 3
Miss. Eleanor Gunning, aged 3 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Thompson" departing 5th May 1847 from Sligo, Ireland; the ship arrived on 14th June 1847 but she died on board 3
Mrs. Rose Gunning, aged 60 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Wilhelmina" departing 8th May 1847 from Belfast, Ireland; the ship arrived on 20th June 1847 but she died on board 3

Gunning migration to Australia +

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

Gunning Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Gunning, (b. 1808), aged 20, English cabinet maker who was convicted in Somerset, England for life for burglary, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 13th March 1828, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1885 4
Mr. Bryan Gunning, (b. 1807), aged 33, Cornish labourer travelling aboard the ship "Anne Gales" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 12th July 1840 5
Mrs. Mary Gunning, (b. 1811), aged 29, Cornish house servant travelling aboard the ship "Anne Gales" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 12th July 1840 5
Mr. John Gunning, (b. 1832), aged 8, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "Anne Gales" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 12th July 1840 5
Mr. Charles Gunning, (b. 1837), aged 3, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "Anne Gales" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 12th July 1840 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gunning migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Gunning Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Edward Gunning, British settler arriving as the 1st detachment of Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps travelling from Tilbury, Essex aboard the ship "Ramillies" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 6th August 1847 6

Gunning migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 7

Gunning Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Gunning, who settled in Barbados in 1680 with his servants

Gunning Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Francis Gunning, who landed in Jamaica in 1720 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Gunning (post 1700) +

Ashleigh Gunning (b. 1985), American retired soccer forward
Sarah Ogan Gunning (1910-1983), American folk singer, of the singing Gunning clan
Thomas P. Gunning (1882-1943), American Republican politician, Dentist; Member of Illinois State Senate 37th District, 1931-43 8
Rosemary R. Gunning (1905-1997), American politician, Member of New York State Assembly, 1969-75 8
Ronald Gunning, American politician, Mayor of Dayton, Kentucky, 2000-02; Appointed 2000 8
Patrick K. Gunning, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Washington, 2008 8
Michael Gunning, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 1988 8
Carmel Gunning, Irish composer and musician
Sir Charles Vere Gunning (1859-1950), 7th Baronet of Eltham in the County of Kent, English peer
Christopher Gunning (1944-2023), English composer of concert works and music for films and television, born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
... (Another 14 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sources +

"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)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 78)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, May 30). Ships' Passenger Lists of Arrivals in New South Wales on (1828 - 1842, 1848 - 1849) [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_nsw_1838_on.pdf
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html