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Irish surname

Coyne: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Ó Cadhain; also Mac Giolla Chaoine, Mac Eoghain, Ó Cuinn · Ó Cadhain: 'descendant of Cadhán' (wild-goose, barnacle)

Woulfe (1923) lists Coyne under several different Irish surnames. One is Ó Cadhain, 'descendant of Cadhán' (wild-goose, barnacle), the name of an old family of Partry who are still numerous in Connacht; it is also anglicised Kyne and, by translation, Barnacle. He also gives Coyne as a form of Mac Giolla Chaoine, Mac Eoghain and Ó Cuinn. In 1890 Ireland's birth indexes held 54 Coyne entries, 27 in Galway and 8 in Mayo.

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Coat of arms associated with the Coyne surname
Irish formÓ Cadhain; also Mac Giolla Chaoine, Mac Eoghain, Ó Cuinn
MeaningÓ Cadhain: 'descendant of Cadhán' (wild-goose, barnacle)
CountiesGalway, Mayo, Leitrim, Sligo
Other spellings5

Origin of the Coyne name

Woulfe: (1) Ó Cadhain, 'an old family of Partry, who are still numerous in Connacht'; (2) Mac Giolla Chaoine, found in the 16th century chiefly in Co. Leitrim and near Dublin; (3) Mac Eoghain, 'a Sligo surname'; (4) Ó Cuinn, pronounced O'Coyne in the south of Ireland, 'hence the anglicised form Coyne which is sometimes used'.[1][2][3][4]

  1. 16th centuryMac Giolla Chaoine found chiefly in Co. Leitrim and near Dublin (Woulfe).[2]
  2. 1835Joseph Stirling Coyne's first play, The Phrenologist, staged at Theatre Royal, Dublin.[9]
  3. 189054 Coyne entries: 27 in Galway, 8 in Mayo. Kyne, a separate table: 27.[5][6][8]

Where in Ireland

Co. Galway27 of 54 Coyne births in 1890, and 26 of 27 Kyne births.[5][6]
Co. Mayo8 Coyne births in 1890.[5]
Co. LeitrimMac Giolla Chaoine was found chiefly here (and near Dublin) in the 16th century.[2]
Co. SligoWoulfe calls Mac Eoghain, also anglicised Coyne, 'a Sligo surname'.[3]

Notable people named Coyne

Joseph Stirling Coyne1805–1868Born at Birr; dramatist; per Webb, one of the projectors and original contributors to Punch.[9]

Other spellings

Kyne · Kine · O Coyne · Kilcoyne · Barnacle[1][7]

The Coyne coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the Coyne surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.

Coyne crest gifts

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Coyne surname: questions

What does the surname Coyne mean?

It depends on the Irish name behind it. For Ó Cadhain, Woulfe gives 'descendant of Cadhán' (wild-goose, barnacle); for Mac Giolla Chaoine, 'son of Giolla Chaoine' (servant of St. Caoine, gentleness); for Mac Eoghain, 'son of Eoghan', an old Irish personal name meaning 'well-born'.[1][2][3]

Why is Coyne sometimes translated as Barnacle?

Woulfe says Ó Cadhain, from cadhán (wild-goose, barnacle), was anglicised Coyne, Kyne and Kine, 'and, by translation, Barnacle'. Matheson's 1901 list of varieties also gives Barnacle under Coyne.[1][7]

Where in Ireland is the Coyne name from?

Woulfe calls the Ó Cadhain family 'an old family of Partry, who are still numerous in Connacht'. In 1890, 27 of 54 Coyne births were in Galway and 8 in Mayo.[1][5]

Are Coyne and Kyne the same name?

Woulfe lists both Coyne and Kyne as anglicised forms of Ó Cadhain, and Matheson's varieties list gives Kyne under Coyne. In 1890, 26 of the 27 Kyne births were in Galway.[1][7][6]

Sources

  1. Ó Cadhain — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/oc/o-cadhain.php
  2. Mac Giolla Chaoin, Mac Giolla Chaoine — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/macg/mac-giolla-chaoin-mac-giolla-chaoine.php
  3. Mac Eoghain — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/mace/mac-eoghain.php
  4. Ó Cuinn — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/oc/o-cuinn.php
  5. Coyne — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/coyne.php
  6. Kyne — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/kyne.php
  7. Coyne — Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1901), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/varieties/list/353.php
  8. Table Explanation — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/table-explanation.php
  9. Joseph Stirling Coyne — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/JosephStirlingCoyne.php

Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).