Recorded as Mannin, Manion, Mannion, Manning, Manan, Manin, Manon, Menon, and others, this is a surname which is usually of Irish origins. It is a developed form of the Gaelic surname O' Mainnin from "manch", meaning monk, and hence the male decendant of the son of the monk. The sept of O' Mainnin was located in the barony of Tiaquin, in County Galway, and their chief's residence was the castle of Clogher. They were an important clan in the region known as Hy Many, but they were not of that group by descent, as their ancestors were the ancient pre Gaelic Pictish rulers of that area. Manning is also a popular English surname, and the Mannings of Dublin and Cork are probably of English descent. Early examples of the surname recording include Elizabeth Manon who was christened at St Johns Limerick, On February 28th 1730, John and Mary Mannion, the twins of Richard and Jane Mannion, who were christened on November 14th 1790, at Moira, in County Down, whilst on January 18th 1827, the marriage of Ann Manion and Thomas Higgins took place at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London. Perhaps the first recorded spelling of the family name in any church records of the British Isles is that of John Mannyng. This was dated July 1st 1540, when he married Dorathy Ulcott, at St. Margaret's, Westminster, during the reign of King Henry V111th of England. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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