An excerpt from www.HouseOfNames.com archives copyright © 2000 - 2016
Origins Available: Irish, Scottish
Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name McSwan is Mac Suibhne, which is derived from the word "suibhne," which means "pleasant."
The surname McSwan was first found in County Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall), northwest Ireland in the province of Ulster, sometimes referred to as County Tyrconnel. The name is derived from Suibhne O'Neill, who was a chieftain in Argyll, Scotland. His descendants migrated to Ireland as gallowglasses (mercenaries) prior to 1267. The three great septs of this name finally established themselves in Tirconnell in 14th century; they were known as MacSweeney Fanad, MacSweeney Banagh, and MacSweeney na dTuath, who were commonly referred to as 'MacSweeney of the Battleaxes.' They later became attached to the MacCarthys in the south and acquired their own territories and castles in Muskerry in County Cork.
A name was often recorded during the Middle Ages under several different spelling variations during the life of its bearer because literacy was rare there was no real push to clearly define any of the languages found in the British Isles at that time. Variations found of the name McSwan include MacSweeney, MacSweeny, MacSwine, MacSwiney, MacSwyne, MacSwyny, MacWhinney, MacWhinny, MacWhinnie, MacSwiny, McSweeney, Swiney, Swinney and many more.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McSwan research. Another 137 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1299 and 1310 are included under the topic Early McSwan History in all our PDF Extended History products.
Another 133 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McSwan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products.
Death and immigration greatly reduced Ireland's population in the 19th century. For the native Irish people poverty, hunger, and racial prejudice was common. Therefore, thousands left their homeland to seek opportunity in North America. Those who survived the journey and the quarantine camps to which they arrived, were instrumental towards building the strong developing nations of the United States and the future Canada. By far, the largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. These were employed as construction or factory workers. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has shown early immigrants bearing the name McSwan:
McSwan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
McSwan Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
The McSwan Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The McSwan Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.
This page was last modified on 11 December 2014 at 06:54.