How do you pronounce potato? Or tomato? Or Murnane? Or Marnane?
And how do you spell them?
While spelling and pronunciation of the family name are issues of disagreement among family members, there is little, if any, disagreement that those who claim the name came from Southern Ireland -- the province of Munster, which includes the counties of Tipperary, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Kerry.
And although various "Maps of Irish Family Names" don't show the name Murnane, or its frequent variation, Marnane, like thousands of other Irish names, the name Murnane appears repeatedly in Irish telephone books and other directories.
As is the case with so many other Irish names, Murnane is a corruption of an earlier name -- and it is a name that apparently never achieved the level of stature or royalty in Ireland that other, more prominent names enjoyed.
Murnanes should not be distressed that the family name does not appear on the lists of common Irish names. The most common Irish names -- O'Brien, Burke, O'Connor, O'Donnell, Donnelly, Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick, Kelly, Kennedy, Lynch, Murphy, O'Reilly, O'Rourke, Sullivan, Sweeney, Walsh, etc. -- are great and proud names but when you look at the Chicago telephone directory, or the Dublin telephone directory, how easy is it to identify cousins, aunts and uncles if you belong to one of those families?
On the other hand, if you're a Murnane, the chances are a lot better that you can establish the family connections and relationships.
There are several recognized experts on Irish names and family histories, and three of the most prominent have written about the Murnane name.
Dr. Edward McLysaght, who headed the Genealogical Office in Dublin for many years, wrote the following about the Murnane name in his book, Irish Families:
"Murnane and Marrinan, with some other spelling variants, are basically the same name, being anglicized forms of the Irish O'Murnain, which Woulfe states is itself a corruption of O'Mananain, a Thomond name derived from that of the ancient seagod Manannan. Presumably he did not make this statement without evidence but I have found no corroboration of it. The Fiants of the last quarter of the sixteenth century contain no O'Manannan but have a number of entries for Marrinan, O'Marnane, etc., all in counties Limerick, Kerry and West Cork."
The Woulfe referred to by McLysaght is Father Patrick Woulfe, a priest from the Diocese of Limerick. The area near Limerick was called the Thomond area.
Woulfe's own comments indicate that other spellings of the Irish name O'Murnain were Murnane, Murnain, Murnan and Mornan. He said the name has "been absurdly changed to Warren in the neighborhood of Kenmare," which is in County Kerry, just south of Killarney. Captain Patrick Kelly, author of Irish Family Names , includes an additional spelling, "O Manynane," to the variations of the name Murnane, and expands the description of its origins by saying it is a derivative of
| "Manannan, a magician of the Isle of Man, son of Lear, who was one of the principal sea-gods of pagan Irish mythology. Both the root form of this surname and its variant originated in western Ireland before the Ninth century. The Annals indicated that they obtained in several maritime clans of Munster and Connaught. They are especially noted in connection with resistance to Viking invasions of the west coast." |
Other sources indicate that the name Murnane is most common in Counties Limerick and Cork. Since County Tipperary borders both Limerick and Cork, it seems likely that the Tipperary Murnanes moved to or from Limerick and Cork. County Kerry is just to the west of Limerick and Cork and also would have been a logical destination for Murnanes moving from Limerick or Cork.
A look through Irish telephone directories shows "Murnane" to be the predominant spelling, although many directories showed "Murnain" "Marnane" and "Marrinan." The 1993 directory that includes County Tipperary shows 40 "Murnane," 26 "Marrinan," and 8 "Marnane."
Pronunciation of the name varies almost as much as the spelling.
Chicago area Murnanes (including the author) pronounce our name with a short first syllable and a long second syllable. (rhymes with "her name." In Ireland, the most common pronunciation, regardless of spelling, is "mer - non." Others in the U.S., and some in Australia, pronounce the name "mer - nan."
Despite different spellings and pronunciations, there is no disagreement (or at least expressed disagreement) that the family originates in southern Ireland, and that all who carry the name may very well be related.
Back to the Top of Murnanes of Tipperary / Who we were / Ireland and Tipperary links / Murnanes in America / Cork Murnanes / Tipperary Murnanes / Des Marnane / "It's Not Such A Long Way to Tipperary" / Murnane Coat of Arms / Where are they Now? / Murnanes in Victoria
