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Language(s) | English, Irish Gaelic |
---|---|
Origin | |
Meaning | "noble" or "steadfast" or "companion" or "communion" |
Region of origin | Connaught, Munster, Clare |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Comain, Comaine, Coman, Comeens, Comins, Comman, Commins, Common(s), Comyn, Cowman(s), Cummane, Cummin(s), Cumming(s), Cumyn, McCowman |
The Irish surname Commane (Irish Gaelic: Ó Comáin or Ó Cuimín,[1] or reduced from Mac Comáin, Mac Cuimín; the prefix signifies "descendant") is of Gaelic Ireland origin, rooted in an early medieval chiefdom and associated with two patron saints of Ireland.
Variants of the name include Comain, Comaine, Coman, Comeens, Comins, Comman, Commins, Common(s), Comyn, Cowman(s), Cummane, Cummin(s), Cumming(s), Cumyn, McCowman. Sometimes incorrectly 'translated' to Hurley camán a hurley.[2][3][a] Standardised form: Ó Comáin.
The name is derived from the Gaelic personal Comán (meaning "noble" or "steadfast") or Commán ("companion" or "communion"), a name from early Irish history, reflecting virtues of early Irish saints and aristocratic chieftains. The surname is rooted in the province of Connaught (sept: Ó Cuimín) and Munster (sept: Ó Comáin), particularly in County Clare, and the 8th and 9th century chiefdom of Tulach Commain ("The Mound [or Fort] of Commane")[b][4][5] a burial and inauguration site for chieftains, and their capital Cahercommane ("The Dwelling of Commane")[c][6][5] also in Clare.[2][7][8][9]
The surname is mentioned throughout the Irish annals, for example Part 15 of the Annals of the Four Masters: "1052 AD, Echthighern Ua hEaghráin, successor of Ciaran of Cluain-mic-Nois and of Comman, died on his pilgrimage at Cluain-Iraird".
The surname Ó Comáin is attested in Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's 17th-century genealogical compilation, Leabhar Mór na nGenealach (The Great Book of Irish Genealogies), a key source for tracing Irish lineages.
The various spellings of Commane can largely be attributed to the lack of Standard Irish until 1948, and the historical practice of English-speaking officials transcribing Irish names phonetically, often based on how the names were pronounced.
(O) Commane, Commons 'Ó Comáin' (in Munster) and 'Ó Cuimín' (in Connacht). Usually called Commons in Co. Wexford and Cummins in Co. Cork. 'Ó Comáin' has become Hurley in some parts of Cos. Clare and Cork, due to the mistaken belief that it describes from 'camán', a hurley. Woulfe says it is from 'cam', crooked, which is equally unacceptable [..] Comyn The name of a Norman-Irish family which is also used in Co. Clare as the anglicized form of Ó Cuimín, see previous entry
mistaken belief that comán derives from camán a hurley
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