''Hynes'' is a surname, many examples of which originate as the anglicisation the Irish name ''Ó hEidhin''.

Etymology

According to the '' Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland'', the modern name ''Hynes'' and its variants derive from two quite different medieval names. # The Irish ''Ó hEidhin'', which means 'descendant of Eidhin'. The dictionary adds that ''Eidhin'' itself is 'a personal name of uncertain origin. It may be a derivative of ''eidhean'' "ivy", or it may represent an altered form of the place-name ''Aidhne''’ and that 'the principal family of this name is descended from Guaire of Aidhne, King of Connacht. From the 7th century for over a thousand years they were chiefs of a territory in east County Galway. There appears to have been another branch of the family located in east County Limerick'. # The

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

name '' Hine'' (with the addition of the

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can ...

''-s'' case ending, implying that the name-bearer was the child of a father called ''Hine'', or addition of ''-s'' on the analogy of such names). This occupational name derives from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''hīne'' ('household servant, farm labourer'), but in the Middle English period could also mean 'farm manager' and also be used of high-status people serving in a lordly household.

Distribution

Around 2011, there were 3320 bearers of the surname ''Hynes'' in Great Britain and 3605 in Ireland. In 1881, there were 717 bearers of the name in Great Britain, with higher frequencies in the north of England, especially Lancashire; Devon and Cornwall; and also central Scotland, especially Lanarkshire.

Irish clan

According to historians C. Thomas Cairney and John O'Hart, the O'Hynes clan were a chiefly family of the Uí Fiachrach Aidhne who were the southern branch of the Uí Fiachrach. Cairney states that the Uí Fiachrach were in turn a tribe of the

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...

, the fourth and final wave of Celtic settlement in Ireland which took place during the first century BC. Their seat was at Dunguaire Castle,

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

People

Notable people with surname include: * Eidhean mac Cléireach, fl. 800, ancestor of the Ó hEidhin/Hynes family of south County Galway * Andrew Hynes (1750–1800), founder of Elizabethtown, Kentucky * Charles J. Hynes (1935–2019), American lawyer and politician, District Attorney of Kings County, New York (1990–2013) * Daniel Hynes (born 1968), Comptroller of the State of Illinois * Dev Hynes (born 1985), musician known under the moniker Blood Orange, former member of the band Test Icicles * Garry Hynes (born 1953), award-winning Irish theatre director *

Jessica Hynes Jessica Hynes (''née'' Stevenson) is a British actress, director and writer. Best known as a comedy actress, she has played Cheryl in ''The Royle Family'' (1998–2010), Siobhan Sharpe in ''Twenty Twelve'' (2011–2012) and ''W1A'' (2014–2 ...

(born 1972), English actress and writer, most renowned as one of the stars of the UK sitcom ''Spaced'' * James Hynes (born 1955), contemporary American novelist * John Hynes (politician) (1897–1970), Massachusetts politician, mayor of Boston 1950–1960 * Jon Hynes, American classical concert pianist * Laurence Hynes Halloran (1765–1831), pioneer schoolteacher and journalist in Australia * Marc Hynes (born 1978), British race car driver *

Martin Hynes Martin Hynes is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and film producer. Life and career Hynes was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, and has a bachelor's degree in history from Columbia University. Hynes wrote and directed ''The Go ...

, American screenwriter, director, actor and producer of independent films * Mary Hynes (broadcaster), Canadian radio and television broadcaster * Patricia Hynes, American attorney * Peter Hynes (footballer) (born 1983), Irish footballer * Peter Hynes (rugby union) (born 1982), Australian rugby union player * Red Hynes (1897–1952), American municipal police officer and strikebreaker * Ron Hynes, Canadian folk singer-songwriter from Newfoundland * Samuel Hynes (1924–2019), American historian and writer * Syd Hynes (1944–2024), English rugby league player and coach * Thomas Hynes (disambiguation) * Tyler Hynes (born 1986), Canadian actor Fictional characters *Joe Hynes, character in James Joyce's novel '' Ulysses'' *Duke of Rudling's animal-trainer Hynes, from Lassie Come-Home Places * Hynes, California now part of Paramount, California

References

{{surname, Hynes Surnames English-language surnames Anglicised Irish-language surnames Surnames of Irish origin Surnames of British Isles origin

Etymology

Distribution

Irish clan

People

See also

References