Canavan is a
surname of
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
origin with two possible translations, both
Anglicized
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...
:
1. "White Head" from ''O'Ceanndubhain Sept'', who were hereditary physicians to the
O'Flahertys of
Connemara
Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...
. Whitehead and Whitelock are sometimes used in
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...
. Spelling variations include: Canovan, O'Canavan, Canaman, Kinevan, Kinavan, Kanavan, O'Kennevain.
2. "Black Head" from ''uiCeanndubhain'' – descendant of the dark haired one, a byname meaning ‘little black-headed one’, from ceann ‘head’ + dubh ‘black’ + the diminutive suffix -án.
People with the surname
*
Brian Canavan, current CEO of the Australian
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
team
*
Chris Canavan, British actor
*
Dennis Canavan
Dennis Andrew Canavan (born 8 August 1942) is a Scottish politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Falkirk West from 1974 to 2000 (known as West Stirlingshire from 1974 to 1983), first as a member of the Labour Party, and then as an I ...
, Scottish politician, Member of the Scottish Parliament for Falkirk West
*
Ivor Canavan
Ivor Canavan, OBE (1929–1999) was a politician in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
On leaving St Columb's College, Canavan studied Engineering at University College Dublin. He returned to his native Derry in 1959 and commenced a lifelon ...
(1929–1999), politician in Northern Ireland
*
Jim Canavan, baseball player in the American Association and National League, 1891 to 1897
*
Katherine Canavan
Katherine Hubay Smith Peterson Canavan (born 1949) served as a United States diplomat and career foreign service officer for 35 years.
She retired in November 2011 and has since supported a number of military courses and exercises as a Subject ...
, United States diplomat and career foreign service officer
*
Matt Canavan
Matthew James Canavan (born 17 December 1980) is an Australian politician. He was elected to the Australian Senate representing the state of Queensland at the 2013 federal election for the term beginning 1 July 2014. He won re-election at the ...
, Australian Federal MP
*
Michael Noel Canavan, Irish police officer, recipient of the Scott Medal
*
Myrtelle Canavan, American pathologist who described
Canavan disease
Canavan disease, or Canavan-Van Bogaert-Bertrand disease, is a rare and fatal autosomal recessive degenerative disease that causes progressive damage to nerve cells and loss of white matter in the brain. It is one of the most common degenerative ...
in 1931
*
Niall Canavan, Irish footballer
*
Pascal Canavan
Pascal Canavan is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Tyrone County team. He played in Tyrone's second All-Ireland Final appearance in 1995 and captained Errigal Ciaran in 2002. He retired from inter-county football in 2002, follow ...
, Tyrone Gaelic footballer
*
Pat Canavan, Dublin Gaelic football player
*
Peter Canavan
Peter Canavan (born 9 April 1971) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, manager and pundit.
He played inter-county football for Tyrone, and is one of the most decorated players in the game's history, winning two All-Ireland Senior Football Ch ...
, Tyrone Gaelic footballer
*
Peter P. Canavan, Irish police officer, recipient of the Scott Medal
*
Trudi Canavan
Trudi Canavan (born 23 October 1969) is an Australian writer of fantasy novels, best known for her best-selling fantasy trilogies ''The Black Magician (novel series), The Black Magician'' and ''Age of the Five''. While establishing her writing ...
, Australian writer
*
John A. Canavan (1896–1963), American attorney in Massachusetts
See also
*
References
External links
Canavan Page at Ancestry.com
{{surname
Surnames of Irish origin