Origin/meaning of surname 'Hennah'?

Question

hiya, i have been look for a while now to try and find the meaning and country of origin of my mums family name 'Hennah', and have so far got no where. i would just like to know if anyone out there with the same last name has any leads for it. much appreciated x

Answer 1

Just a fast peek at the Ancestry.com index to the 1871 Scotland Census lists 4 Hennahs:

Name:  Elizabeth Hennah

Birth:  abt 1857 - Ireland

Residence:  Greenock, Greenock West, Renfrewshire

  

Name:  Joseph Hennah

Birth:  abt 1869 - Dalry, Ayrshire

Residence:  Dalry, Dalry, Ayrshire

  

Name:  William Hennah

Spouse:  Jane

Birth:  abt 1811 - Donegal, Ireland

[note: her birthdate is probably indexed incorrectly]

Residence:  Glasgow St John, Lanarkshire

Name:  Jane Hennah

Spouse:  William

Birth:  abt 1831 - Glasgow, Lanarkshire

Residence:  Glasgow St John, Lanarkshire

Answer 2

It sounds to me as though it might well be a mis-spelling of the Hanna/Hannah surname which is Irish/Scottish in origin.  I've got Hanna's and Hannah's in my family tree and I've found some fairly peculiar spellings of it over the years - particularly when immigration and different accents were involved!

I don't think there's any particular meaning for it, but you might want to check out the Clan Hannay website (www.clanhannay.com) for some info :)

Obviously if you REALLY want to find out the answer for sure, time to start asking your Mum questions about her family and tracing back that family tree!