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McKeown History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Sources

McKeown History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of McKeown

What does the name McKeown mean?

Hundreds of years ago, the Gaelic name used by the McKeown 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 McKeown family

The surname McKeown 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 McKeown family

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

McKeown Spelling Variations

Names from the Middle Ages demonstrate many spelling variations. This is because the recording scribe or church official often decided as to how a person's name was spelt and in what language. Research into the name McKeown revealed many variations, including Keon, MacKeon, MacKeown, MacKewan, MacKoun, MacWing, Hone, MacOwen, Mageown and many more.

Early Notables of the McKeown family

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

McKeown World Ranking

In the United States, the name McKeown is the 4,357^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 2 However, in New Zealand, the name McKeown is ranked the 687^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,036 people with that name. 3 And in the United Kingdom, the name McKeown is the 785^th popular surname with an estimated 8,621 people with that name. 4

McKeown migration to the United States +

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 McKeown or a variant listed above, including:

McKeown Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Alexander McKeown, aged 18, who landed in New York, NY in 1803 5
Dan McKeown, who arrived in America in 1806 5
Hugh McKeown, who landed in South Carolina in 1810 5
Moses McKeown, who landed in South Carolina in 1810 5
Margaret McKeown, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McKeown migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McKeown Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Peter McKeown, aged 13, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the brig "Silestria" from Belfast, Ireland
Michael McKeown, aged 25, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Betsy Heron" from Belfast, Ireland
Rose McKeown, aged 23, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Betsy Heron" from Belfast, Ireland
Kitty McKeown, aged 20, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Betsy Heron" from Belfast, Ireland
Ally McKeown, aged 22, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Cupid" in 1834
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McKeown migration to Australia +

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

McKeown Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Thomas McKeown (aged 21) arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Aurora"

McKeown 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:

McKeown Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Elizabeth Mckeown, (b. 1842), aged 19, Irish needlewoman, from Londonderry travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastopol" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th December 1861 6
Miss Margaret Mckeown, (b. 1844), aged 17, Irish domestic servant, from Londonderry travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastopol" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th December 1861 6
Miss Mary Mckeown, (b. 1846), aged 15, Irish domestic servant, from Londonderry travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastopol" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th December 1861 6
Miss Rachel Mckeown, (b. 1849), aged 12, Irish settler, from Londonderry travelling from London aboard the ship "Sebastopol" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th December 1861 6
Nicholas McKeown, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Empress" in 1865
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name McKeown (post 1700) +

Erin McKeown (b. 1977), American folk-rock singer
William B. McKeown, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Mayor of White Plains, New York, 1961 7
Thomas Deitz McKeown (1878-1951), American Democratic Party politician, District Judge in Oklahoma 7th District, 1911-16; U.S. Representative from Oklahoma 4th District, 1917-21, 1923-35 7
Mitchell McKeown, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1948 7
Mary McKeown, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1960 7
Lawrence W. McKeown, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 2nd District, 1950; Chair of Nassau County Democratic Party, 1953-55 7
John McKeown, American Democratic Party politician, Member of New York State Assembly, 1895-1905 7
James J. McKeown, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for U.S. Senator from New York, 1982 7
Francis M. McKeown (b. 1898), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Massachusetts State Senate First Hampden District, 1935-36 7
Daniel J. McKeown, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in North Bay, 1897-1905 7
... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the McKeown family +

HMAS Sydney II

Mr. Malachi James McKeown (1919-1941), Australian Able Seaman from Newtown, New South Wales, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 8

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Gerard Mckeown, British Marine, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 9

SS Atlantic

Thomas McKeown, who was traveling aboard the ship "SS Atlantic" when it struck rocks off Nova Scotia in 1873, died in the sinking

Sources +

Moore, A.W., Manx Names. London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1906. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html