O'Canon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Etymology of O'Canon

While the Anglicized versions of Irish names are often familiar to people, their Irish Gaelic heritage is often unknown. The original Gaelic form of the name O'Canon is Ó Canain, from the word "cano," which means "wolf cub." 1

Early Origins of the O'Canon family

Early History of the O'Canon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Canon research. Another 156 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1500, 1659 and 1687 are included under the topic Early O'Canon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Canon Spelling Variations

Numerous spelling variations of the surname O'Canon 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 Cannon, O'Cannon, MacCannon, Cannan, Cannen, Cannin, MacCannan, McCannon, McCannan and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Canon family

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

Migration of the O'Canon family

Irish families began to immigrate to British North America and the United States in the 18th century, but the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. The earlier settlers came to North America after a great deal of consideration and by paying relatively high fees for their passage. These settlers were primarily drawn by the promise of land. Those later settlers that came during the 1840's were trying to escape the conditions of poverty, starvation, disease, and death that had stricken Ireland. Due to the enormity of their numbers and the late date of their arrival, these immigrants primarily became hired laborers instead of homesteading settlers like their predecessors. An exhaustive search of immigration and passenger lists has revealed many Irish immigrants North America bearing the name O'Canon: Edward and Ann Cannon who settled in Virginia in 1646; John Cannon settled in Barbados in 1660; another John settled in Jamaica in 1716; Alexander, Andrew, Anthony, Barney, Bernard, Bridget, Charles, Cornelius, Daniel Dennis, Edward, Ennis, George, Hugh, James, John, Mannis, Michael, Neal, Owen, Patrick, Philip, Thomas and William Cannon all settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1772 and 1866.