Cunningham Family History
Cunningham Name Meaning
Scottish: habitational name from the province of Cunningham in Ayrshire first recorded in 1153 in the form Cunegan a Celtic name of uncertain origin. The spellings in -ham first recorded in 1180 and in -ynghame first recorded in 1227 represent a gradual assimilation to the English placename element -ingham. Irish: surname adopted from Gaelic Ó Cuinneagáin ‘descendant of Cuinneagán’ a personal name from a double diminutive of the Old Irish personal name Conn meaning ‘leader chief’. This name is also adopted for Ó Connacháin a variant of Ó Connagáin ‘descendant of Connagán’ from a diminutive of the personal name Conn.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
