Origin of the Name Noonan
The origin of the name
Noonan was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives.
Over the centuries Surnames developed a wide number of variants. Different spellings of the same name can be traced back to an original root. Additionally when a bearer of a name emigrated it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books at their new location. Surnames were also often altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another.
Variants of the name Noonan
include Nunan and Neenan. This name belongs almost exclusively to the Province of Munster and Cork where it originated. In Irish the name is O'Nuanain which is taken from a word that translates as 'beloved'. In early times O'Noonan was chief of a sept in Duhallow and they were also connected with the Church as erenaghs of the Church of Saint Beretchert at Tullylease in the barony of Duhallow. Notable people of the name were James Patrick Noonan, 1878-1929, who was an American labour leader, being the son of an Irish emigrant. In the Middle Ages, William O'Noonan was the King's surgeon who, in 1341, cured Lionel Duke, son of King Edward III, then Viceroy of Ireland . in modern times the name Noonan is still well represented in County Cork .
The Noonan coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Noonan descendants.