Plunkett Family History & Genealogy

Summary

The surname Plunkett is derived from living in the settlement of Plouquenet in Ille-et-Vilaine in northwest of France. The surname Plunkett belongs to the large category of Anglo-Norman habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Some sources indicated that the surname Plunkett is a corruption of the Old French word blanchet, which means white. The Gaelic form of the surname Plunkett is Pluincéid.

History

We suspect that the Plunkett name arrived in England as part of the Norman invasion of 1066. Supporters of William the Conqueror were awarded with land and titles. When, the Normans subsequently invaded Ireland from their new base in England, the practice continued and the likely extrance of the Plunkett name in Ireland.

Name Origin

The surname Plunkett was first found in County Louth (Irish: Lú) the smallest county in Ireland, located on the East coast, in the Province of Leinster, where they were granted lands when they accompanied Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, in the invasion of Ireland.

However, the name is thought to originate in northwest France. Plunkett Name Meaning (of Norman origin): habitational name from a metathesized form of Plouquenet in Ille-et-Villaine, Brittany, so named from Breton plou ‘parish’ (from Latin plebs ‘people’) + Guenec, the personal name (a diminutive of guen ‘white’) of a somewhat obscure saint.

Spellings & Pronunciations

May be spelled Plunkett, Plunket, Plunkit, Plunkitt, Plonkit, Plonkitt, Plonket, Plonkett, or Plunceid.

Nationality & Ethnicity

Plunkett, a surname often associated with Ireland, possibly of Norse or Norman origin,

Famous People named Plunkett

Richard Plunkett (1340–1393), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, ancestor of the Barons Dunsany, Barons Killeen, and Earls of Fingall

Early Plunketts

These are the earliest records we have of the Plunkett family.