Macgeehant History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

Etymology of Macgeehant

What does the name Macgeehant mean?

Hundreds of years ago, the Gaelic name used by the Macgeehant family in Ireland was Mac Eogain in Connacht, and Mac Eoin in east Ulster. Both of these names connote a "son of John," or "son of Owen." 1

Early Origins of the Macgeehant family

The surname Macgeehant was first found in County Sligo (Irish: Sligeach), in the province of Connacht in Northwestern Ireland, where the first people to use this surname are thought to have originated. Soon thereafter, the name was also found in neighboring Leitrim.

Early History of the Macgeehant family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Macgeehant research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Macgeehant History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Macgeehant Spelling Variations

Irish names were rarely spelled consistently in the Middle Ages. Spelling variations of the name Macgeehant dating from that time include Keon, MacKeon, MacKeown, MacKewan, MacKoun, MacWing, Hone, MacOwen, Mageown and many more.

Early Notables of the Macgeehant family

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

Migration of the Macgeehant family

To escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, thousands of Irish left their homeland in the 19th century. These migrants typically settled in communities throughout the East Coast of North America, but also joined the wagon trains moving out to the Midwest. Ironically, when the American War of Independence began, many Irish settlers took the side of England, and at the war's conclusion moved north to Canada. These United Empire Loyalists, were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Other Irish immigrants settled in Newfoundland, the Ottawa Valley, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, however, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America and Australia. Many of those numbers, however, did not live through the long sea passage. These Irish settlers to North America were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Macgeehant or a variant listed above, including: Samuel and William Keown, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1840 and 1855; James and Thomas Keon arrived in Philadelphia between 1860 and 1877..