Family Name History

HANNON

The Irish surname Hannon is an anglicised form of the Gaelic OhAnnain. The Prefix O signifies son of or descendent and indicates the patronymic origin of the surname. The principal territory of this sept in medieval times has often been given as Co. Limerick, although the precise location of the name has often led to some confusion. Although there are many substantial families of Hannon in Munster and Connacht, there is little reference in the contemporary sources to the existence of the surname in medieval Ireland. However, one of the earliest instances of the surname recorded is the death of one Maelisa OHannen, prior of Roscommon, in 1266. The census of 1659 notes that the surname was numerous in the barony of Athlone, Co. Roscommon and Haneens were also found in considerable numbers in the barony of Bunratty, Co. Clare. Another Gaelic surname, OhAinchin, that of the family of Siol Anmchadha, belonging to southeast Galway and anglicised as Haneen, has become Hannon, thus adding to the location difficulty. It would appear, however, that the surname is mostly prevalent today in Limerick, Galway and Roscommon. The survey of Birth Indexes of 1890 recorded forty-four instances of the surname, the majority of which were situated in Connacht. The prefix O which originally accompanied this surname has, by now, largely fallen into disuse. In general, Gaelic prefixes tended to be discarded as early as the middle of the seventeenth century during the period of the Gaelic and Catholic submergence and were usually never resumed. A notable bearer of the surname was Patrick Hannan (1842-1925), who was born in Co, Clare and who discovered the Kalgoorlie Goldfield in Western Australia which contains the richest square mile of gold.