Coyne — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: O Cadhain
Meaning: 'descendant of Cadhan, meaning wild goose or barnacle goose'
Traditional stronghold: Galway, Mayo
Pronunciation: KOYN; Irish O Cadhain: oh KY-in
History of the Coyne name
O Cadhain, from cadhan meaning 'wild goose', named a sept centred in Galway and Mayo, part of the wider group of Connacht families whose names derived from bird and animal bynames reflecting close observation of the natural world in early Gaelic naming practice. The family remained a modest but persistent landholding group in the west of Ireland through the medieval period. Anglicisation rendered the name Coyne, with the O prefix largely dropped, and it is strongly associated today with Galway, Mayo and the Connemara Gaeltacht in particular, an area where Irish-language surnames and naming traditions have remained comparatively well preserved. The name spread through emigration to Britain and the United States.
Variants: O'Coyne · Kyne
Famous bearers of the name
- Mairtin O Cadhain — major 20th-century Irish-language novelist, author of Cre na Cille
- Cathal Coyne — Irish sportsperson
- Robert Coyne — Irish musician
- Maureen Coyne — Irish community figure
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Kelly · Walsh · Lynch · Connolly · Burke · Clarke · Hughes · Keane