Re: DeShannon
in reply to a message by DeShannon
I've a couple of theories.
First, and probably wrong, is that the 'Shannon' part is a highly morphed version of some continental city/region. It might be rendered as 'Shannon' by misappropriation or repeated misspelling.
The next two are related in that Irish-Gaelic surnames of Norman-French origin often use the odd prefix 'de.' I say odd because it is used even when incorrect, especially when a name might be more correctly prefixed 'le,' 'de' is used. For example: English 'Power,' French 'Le Poer,' Irish 'de Paor.'
The second theory is that 'DeShannon' belongs to a legitimate Norman family. Many prominent Normans had multiple branches off their family tree, each with individual surnames (six from 'Burke' that I know of). It is possible some minor family named a branch after the river called 'An tSionainn' in Gaelic.
Thirdly, a family may have put on Norman airs and masked a Gaelic name (as the 'Fitzpatricks' did). One of a few could be so disguised: 'Shanahan/Ó Seannacháin,' 'Shinane/Ó Seanáin' or 'Giltenan/Mac Giolla tSeanáin.' All three are have been commonly changed to 'Shannon' in the past
I believe the second and third theories are equal in weight. Either way, the commonality of this 'DeShannon' form seems to be very limited.
First, and probably wrong, is that the 'Shannon' part is a highly morphed version of some continental city/region. It might be rendered as 'Shannon' by misappropriation or repeated misspelling.
The next two are related in that Irish-Gaelic surnames of Norman-French origin often use the odd prefix 'de.' I say odd because it is used even when incorrect, especially when a name might be more correctly prefixed 'le,' 'de' is used. For example: English 'Power,' French 'Le Poer,' Irish 'de Paor.'
The second theory is that 'DeShannon' belongs to a legitimate Norman family. Many prominent Normans had multiple branches off their family tree, each with individual surnames (six from 'Burke' that I know of). It is possible some minor family named a branch after the river called 'An tSionainn' in Gaelic.
Thirdly, a family may have put on Norman airs and masked a Gaelic name (as the 'Fitzpatricks' did). One of a few could be so disguised: 'Shanahan/Ó Seannacháin,' 'Shinane/Ó Seanáin' or 'Giltenan/Mac Giolla tSeanáin.' All three are have been commonly changed to 'Shannon' in the past
I believe the second and third theories are equal in weight. Either way, the commonality of this 'DeShannon' form seems to be very limited.