On Lenahan

Irish ears tend to perk up when they hear our last name. Our tour guide in Kensale called it a "fine Irish surname," and the proprietor of our B&B there mentioned that she knew of a few Lenihans in and around County Cork. According to her, our spelling of the name is uncommon, and that it's far more common to see it spelled "Lenihan" or "Lenehan." The differentiations, she said, are likely due to the aglicization of the Gaelic spelling, which can vary. She also mentioned that Irish names are sometimes changed by officials as Irish immigrants pass through Ellis Isle.

Here's the entry for Lenehan in an Irish surname book she had handy:

"Lenehan is the algicised version of the Irish O'Leannachain, possibly from leannach, meaning 'sorrowful.' It appears to have arisen separately in two localities, in Co. Roscommon in the west, and in the south in the Limerick/Tipperary region. Bearers of the surname are found in both areas today, but it is most common in the south. The most prominent contemporaries of the name are Brian Lenihan (b. 1924) and his younger sister Mrs. Mary O'Rourke, of the Roscommon family, who both served in a variety of ministerial positions in the Irish government from the 1970s to the 1990s."

So there you have it.