From Mac Géibheannaigh, ‘son of the fettered one’ — a Munster name concentrated in Cork and Kerry, also anglicised Guinee and Geaney.
The Guiney certificate.
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Gaelic Origin · Root meaning ‘fettered, bound’
Guiney most often anglicises Mac Géibheannaigh, built on géibheannach, ‘fettered’ or ‘in chains’ — most likely a byname remembering an ancestor once held captive, though the exact circumstance is long lost. The family were concentrated in Munster, particularly Cork and Kerry, and the name also appears historically as Guinee and Geaney.
A hard word kept as a name for centuries — whatever the original captivity was, the family outlasted it.
Irish form: Mac Géibheannaigh
