Plunkett Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Plunkett Family History

Plunkett Family History

The ancient origin of the name Plunkett was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Plunkett include Plunket, Plucknett and Plunkitt. This name is of French origin, being a corruption of the word 'blanchet', meaning 'white', and was introduced to Ireland at the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion. It has now become exclusively Irish. Families of the name held territory in Meath and Louth in the 1600s and were accorded a variety of titles. It is one of the most distinguished names in Irish history. From the year 1316, when Thomas Plunkett of Louth was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, down to modern times, there has scarcely been a generation in which one or more of the name has not been prominent. Randal Plunkett, nineteenth Baron Dunsany, still farms his estate in Meath. Oliver Plunkett (1625-1681), was ordained in Rome. He was Archbishop of Armagh and was martyred at Tyburn. The form Plucknett has been on record from the thirteenth century found in the person of a William de Plukenet, who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls'.The Plunkett family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Plunkett descendants.