Manna

This is a very rare Irish surname. So rare indeed that it is not listed in MacLysaghts Irish Families, generally regarded as the most comprehensive listing of any nationality in the world. The curious thing about this name is that it looks so obviously 'Irish' to the point where it was expected that it would be easy to research. This has not been the case, recordings are few and far between, and the clear inference is that the surname as Manna, Managh, Mannagh or even Mannan is a variant form of something else. The question is of what? The obvious candidate is the surname Monaghon, which is also recorded as Managhan, Monaghan and even Moyniham. Given that until the establishment of the famous National Schools of Ireland between the year 1870 and 1890, less than 10% of the population could even write their name, the margin for error in name recordings is obvious, particularly when coupled with the richness of the Irish accent, and its ability in such a small place to create local dialects which are almost separate languages. In the case of this name the best examples of the recording are to be found in the Famine Lists of 1846 - 1848. Here we have examples such as Michael Manna aged 16, who sailed for New York on the ship "Nonantum" on April 18th 1846, whilst slightly later on July 14th 1846, Anthony Managh aged 28, and with the given occupation of weaver, sailed on the ship "Liverpool of Liverpool"