QUINNEY
This is a copy of an article published in
The Peak Advertiser, the Peak District's local free newspaper,
on 17th January 1994,
reproduced by kind permission of the author, the late Desmond Holden.
The “What's in a Name” series was a regular
feature in the Advertiser over the period 1993‑2004,
taking a refreshing look at the derivation of some typically
Derbyshire surnames.
Articles are confined to the origins and meanings of surnames,
and do not indicate any particular interest on Desmond's part in
the genealogy, descent, or family history of individuals bearing
the surnames featured.
Editor's Note: Articles are provided for general interest and
background only. They are not intended to provide an exhaustive treatise
for any individual family history - investigations of which may yield
quite different results. Or, in Desmond's own words:
“In the end it must remain with individual bearers of the names to
draw upon family traditions and to seek out such documentary
evidence as is available to decide the matter for themselves.”
WHAT'S IN A NAME …
Are you called QUINNEY?
The origins of the name "Quinney" and its related names, such as
"Quin" and "Quinn", are obscure because there arc so many possible
sources. The problem lies in the initial letters, "Qua-". This
combination belongs to the Latin language and was not used in
either Celtic or Gaelic, to which the name "Quinney" can be traced.
These old native languages used a letter which was not very much
different from the present-day "C" but sounded something like a
thick, throaty "H" - as, for example, in the Scottish word "loch".
When the French-speaking Normans took over after 1066, they soon
found that they could not pronounce it since such a sound did not
exist in their language and so they substituted
the nearest thing to it, which was the "q" and "u" in combination,
borrowed directly from Latin from which French stemmed.
It is willingly conceded that the foregoing explanation is
extremely simplistic but to enlarge upon the developments of the
letters "c" and "k" in detail would be out of place here!
Armed with this information, if one replaced the initial letters of
"Quinney" with either the letters "C" or "K" it does not require
much mental, agility to come up with a name easily identifiable
with "Kenny" and "Conney" and "Connor" and "Connell". Concentrating
for a moment on "Quinney", it can be seen to have been derived from
"Conn" and is certainly of Irish origin and means "One who is a
descendant of Conn".
The next question, then, is: Who was Conn? Well, there are several
claimants, but none of them can be positively identified. To start
with: there is the very old word "cynn" which means "chieftain".
Some bearers of the name might well lay claim to having been
originally descended from a local Tribal Chief. It is easy to see
how the word "cynn" (or "kynn") gave us the modern title of "King"
which has subsequently provided many families with material for
romantic geneologies!
The initial letters, however, such as "Cy-" or "Cu-" are shared
among many first-names as well, and some have settled in the
memories of successive generations as folk-heroes. In Gaelic, the
word for "dog" was "cu" (Note: the corresponding Latin: "canis").
In early communities the attributes of a dog - its speed and
ability to hunt down prey - were greatly admired and members of a
group who displayed these talents were distinguished through names
which likened them to a hound. Sadly, today, although we are a
nation of dog-lovers, it is now no compliment to be called a "Dog!"
- and most certainly not a "Bitch"!!!
Probably the most famous "Dog" was the Ancient British King called
"Cunobelinus" - who is now better known under the' name given to
him by Shakespeare, which is "Cymbeline".
Then there is the old word "cunnan" which is related to the word
"can" in the sense of being able "to do things". From this it is
suggested that the name "Conan" has been derived, meaning "he who
is capable" - i.e. "intelligent". So people today might be able to
point to an ancester who was famed for his "cunning". Note: the
North Country word "canny" follows a different route and is
comparatively modern.
In its original Irish form the unit "Conn-" would have appeared as
"Cuinn" which accounts for the "-i-" in the middle. The final "-y"
is a suffix, which, among other things indicated descent, although
it is now more or less confined to "pet-names" such as "Billy" and
"Betty". It would be interesting to trace the progress of the
lettering and how the name ultimately took on the spelling
"Quinn-". Former writers, unfamiliar with the Irish language, when
they first encountered "Luimneach" and "Beal Feirste" did the best
they could and came up with "Limerick" and "Belfast". No doubt a
corresponding transliteration occurred in the case of many Irish
surnames, not only Quinney.
In its shorter form, "Quin" it is the family name of the Earls of
Dunraven and not a few distinguished doctors, actors and
journalists bear the name and are of Irish nationality. Edward
Quin, for instance, pioneered the publishing of magazines designed
to be read by particular trades and professions.
Site Index
|
© Desmond Holden
From "The Peak Advertiser", 17th January 1994.
|