Cunningham Family History

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.