Surname McGuinnes - Meaning and Origin

McGuinnes: What does the surname McGuinnes mean?

The surname McGuinness is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name "Mag Aonghusa" or "Mac Aonghusa", which translates to "son of Angus". Angus itself is derived from "Aonghus", a Celtic god of love and youth in mythology. The prefix "Mag" or "Mac" means "son of", which was a common way of creating family names in Gaelic society. Therefore, the surname McGuinness can be interpreted as "descendant of Angus".

The McGuinness family has its historical roots in the County Down area, in the province of Ulster, Northern Ireland. The family was notable in medieval Ireland and Scotland, and many members played significant historical roles, such as kings, chieftains, warriors, and scholars. Despite variances in the spelling of the surname due to Anglicization, such as Magennis, Guinness, and MacGuinness, they all hold similar meanings and origins.

As with many Irish surnames, the meaning of McGuinness can be familial, tribal, or geographical, and not necessarily personal, reflecting Irish tradition of clan and family names based on a significant ancestor or geographical location.

McGuinnes: Where does the name McGuinnes come from?

The surname McGuinnes is of Irish origin, more specifically from Gaelic roots. It is derived from the Irish personal name Aonghus meaning "one and choice". This surname was first established in County Fermanagh located in Northern Ireland.

The last name is a form of the original Irish surnames Mag Aonghusa or MagAonghuis, which were patronymic names, where 'Mag' denotes ‘son of.' Over the years, the name went through numerous Anglicized versions, one of them being McGuinnes.

Today, it is common in many English-speaking countries but is predominantly found in Ireland and the United States due to the diaspora of Irish people in history. Not only is it well-represented in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, but it is also particularly widespread among those of Irish descent in states like New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania in the United States. Additionally, a significant number of people bearing the McGuinnes surname can be found in Australia, Canada, and the UK.

Variations of the surname McGuinnes

The surname McGuinnes is an anglicized form of the Irish surname Mag Aonghusa, which translates to "son of Aonghus". Aonghus was an Irish god of love and youth, implying that bearers of this surname may have had some connection to these religious figures in ancient times. There are several variants and alternative spellings to this surname due primarily to anglicization and regional dialects. They include:

- McGuinness

- McGinness

- Magennis

- MacGuinness

- MacInnes

- MacInnis

- Maginnis

- MacGinness

- MacGenis

- Mag Aonghusa (This is the original Gaelic spelling.)

Additionally, there have been variations of this surname that dropped the Mac/Mc prefix entirely, resulting in variations such as:

- Guinness

- Ginnis

- Innes

It is also not unusual to find the surname preceded by "O'", as in O'McGuinness or O'Guinness, which indicates "descendant of" rather than "son of".

In some cases, the "Mc" prefix can also be anglicized to "Fitz", leading to variants such as FitzInnes or FitzGuinness.

Although these variants and spellings vary widely, they all originate from the same historical Irish surname.

Famous people with the name McGuinnes

• Steve Mcguinnes: an Irish Olympic gold medalist in rowing who competed during the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympic games.
• Cleo Mcguinness: an American professional freestyle skateboarder and World Champion hailing from San Diego, California.
• Kevin Mcguinness: a former professional Australian Rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League for Collingwood.
• Brian Mcguinness: a prominent British emeritus professor of philosophy at the Open University.
• Frank Mcguinness: an Irish dramatist, professor of creative writing at University College Dublin and a former member of AIÉ.
• Brendan Mcguinness: a Northern Irish former professional footballer who primarily played as a forward for Derry City.
• Joe Mcguinness: an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency from 2011 to 2020.
• William J. Mcguinness: an Irish-born American electrical engineer and professor at Rice University.
• Holly Mcguinness: an Australian actress and model who has starred in various television series and short films.
• Nuala Mcguinness: an Irish stage, television and film actress who is known for roles on-screen and in theatre, primarily in her native Ireland.

Other surnames

McGuinnMcGuinneMcGuinness