McHenry

Recorded as McHenry, McEnery, McEniry, McHendry, McKendrie, McKendry, O' Henry, O'Henery, Henery and Fitzhenry, this is a Gaelic surname. It derives from either Mac Eanraig in Scotland or Mac Einri, O' Hinnerighe, and the Norman FitzHenry in Ireland, but ultimately all from the pre 6th century Germanic personal name Heim-ric translating as Home-power. Over the centuries the personal name spread to France and Normandy and as Henri was introduced into England by the Norman-French at the Invasion of 1066. In time this spelling spread to both Scotland and Ireland, where in due course it developed its own local forms. In Ireland the surname is associated both County Wexford in the East and about as far away as possible at County Limerick in the West. In ULster the clan are usually known as O' Henery. The FitzHenry's of Wexford were Gaelicised to Mac Einri and MacEnery in the 16th century. Examples of recordings Robert McHenry, christened in Edinburgh on August 31st 1701, and Helen, the daughter of Andrew and Jane Lundie McHenry, christened on March 5th 1812. Catharine McEniry believed to be of Limerick, sailed for New York on the ship "Yorkshire" on July 31st 1846, at the begining of the infamous Potato Famine in Ireland. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John McHenri. This was dated 1370, when he was lord of Koylyan. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.