Flynn Name History
Flynn Name History
Discover the fascinating Flynn Name History with insights into the origin and meaning of this ancient surname. Uncover your family heritage today.
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Flynn Coat of Arms

Flynn is a surname of Irish origin. It is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Ó Floinn "descendant of Flann," a byname meaning "red(dish)" or "ruddy." The name originated in the landlocked county of Laois in the mid-1300s by a large farming family. The name was almost wiped out due to both plague and famine, but it still lives on today.

Variant spellings of the Irish surname Flynn include O'Flynn, Flinn, Lynn, O'Lynn, Linn, and O'Linn.

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The Flynns were an important and influential family in Ireland. We are honored to offer your family two framed documents that provide more details on the Flynn surname and coat of arms. The Framed Irish Family Name History and Framed Irish Coat of Arms & Family History are heirloom-quality framed prints that describe the Flynn family history in Ireland.

Flynn is one of the many Irish coats of arms and surnames we have available on clothing, glassware, home decor, and other quality gifts. See the Irish coat of arms page on theirishrose.com for family crest ideas and products.

Find a Flynn Pub in Ireland

There's at least one Flynn Pub in Ireland. The one we found is called Flynn's Bar & Off Licence in Ferrybank, County Waterford. If you can't visit in person, our personalized Flynn pub gifts are the next best thing!

Notable people named Flynn

Acting

Barbara Flynn, English actress

Daniel Flynn (actor), English actor

Errol Flynn, Australian-American movie actor

Jimmy Flynn, American actor

Joe Flynn (US actor), American actor

Neil Flynn, American actor known for his role on the American TV series Scrubs

Quinton Flynn, American voice actor

Sean Flynn, American actor known for his role on the American TV series Zoey 101

Art and writing

Daniel J. Flynn, American conservative author

Greg Flynn, Australian novelist

Homer Flynn, Spokesman for The Cryptic Corporation and possible member of avant-garde San Francisco art collective The Residents

John T. Flynn (1882-1964), U.S. journalist and author

Michael Flynn (author) (born 1947), American science fiction author

Nick Flynn, poet and writer

Tom Flynn journalist

Vince Flynn American author

George L. Flynn, the prisable

Law and policing

Edmund James Flynn, attorney in Canada

Edward A. Flynn, Chief of the Milwaukee Police Department

William J. Flynn (1867-1928), director of the Bureau of Investigation from 1919 to 1921

Music

James R. Flynn (songwriter), American country musicsongwriter

Johnny Flynn, musician

Patrick Flynn (composer), composer and conductor

Robert Flynn, guitarist for the Bay Area metal band Machine Head

Matt Flynn (musician), drummer for the band Maroon 5.

Flynn Amps (Manufacturer), guitar amplifier and effects manufacturer.

Politics and governance

Dan Flynn, Texas politician

Edward J. Flynn, American politician, Secretary of State of New York 19291939

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, political activist

John Flynn (Irish politician) (died 1968), Fianna Fáil politician from Kerry

John Flynn (New Brunswick politician) (born 1954)

John Gerrard Flynn, former British Ambassador to Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and Angola

Pádraig Flynn, Irish politician between 1977 and 1999

Patrick Flynn (Canadian politician) (1921-1996), Canadian Liberal Party politician of Irish extraction

Paul Flynn (politician) (born 1935), British Labour Party MP for Newport West

Raymond Flynn, former mayor of Boston, Massachusetts

William S. Flynn (1885-1966), Governor of Rhode Island from 1923 to 1925

Flynn J. Owen Mayor of Nelson, New Zealand from 1879 to 1883

Science, medicine and academia

Colin P. Flynn, professor at the University of Illinois

James R. Flynn, intelligence researcher in New Zealand

John Flynn (minister) (1880-1951), Minister and the founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia

Michael J. Flynn, American computer scientist and inventor of Flynn's taxonomy

Michael P. Flynn, electrical engineering professor at University of Michigan

Shirley E. Flynn, Wyoming historian

Helen Flynn, inventor at the University of Oxford

Maryirene Ilchert-Flynn M.D.,American Orthopedic Surgeon and New York City Police Department Police Surgeon

Sport

Ann Flynn, American track and field athlete

Brian Flynn (born 1955), Welsh footballer

Christopher Flynn, Welsh footballer

Daniel Flynn (cricketer), New Zealand cricketer

Don Flynn, Football player, Dallas Texans, New York Jets

Doug Flynn (born 1951), American baseball player

Edward Flynn (boxer), American boxer, Gold medalist at the 1932 Olympic Games

Eddie Flynn, Irish soccer player

George Flynn (baseball)

Jacen Flynn, American mixed martial arts fighter

John Flynn (baseball), former baseball player

John Flynn (footballer), Irish footballer

John Flynn (rugby league), rugby league footballer of the 1900s, for England, and Broughton Rangers

Lefty Satan Flynn, British Honduran boxer, Jamaican dual-weight titleholder

Michael Flynn (footballer) (born 1980), Welsh soccer player (of Wigan, Gillingham etc., now Bradford City)

Mike Flynn (footballer), English footballer (of Preston N.E., Stockport etc., now Salford City)

Mike Flynn (American football), American football player

Mike Flynn (baseball), American baseball player

Mike Flynn (basketball), American basketball player

Michael Flynn (horse racing), Irish Jockey

Patrick Flynn (athlete) (1895-1969), American Olympic medalist

Paul Flynn (hurler) (born 1974), Irish hurler for Waterford

Paul Flynn (footballer), Dublin Gaelic footballer

Ted Flynn, Australian Rules footballer

Tom Flynn (American football), retired NFL athlete

Other

Harry Flynn, Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

John Flynn (director) (1932-2007), American film director

Michael T. Flynn, U.S. major general who is top military intelligence officer in Afghanistan

Mike Flynn (radio host), American radio host

Paul Flynn (New Zealand radio), New Zealand radio announcer for ZM

Fictional characters

Harry Flynn, a villain character in the video game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Kevin Flynn, one of the main characters of the 1982 Walt Disney Pictures film Tron

Sam Flynn, son of Kevin Flynn on the 2010 film Tron: Legacy

Mickey Flynn, character in the novel Homeward Bound

Mike Flynn (character), character from the Australian drama Sea Patrol

Phineas, Linda, and Candace Flynn, from the Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb

Francis Xavier Flynn, the lead character in the Flynn series of detective novels by Gregory McDonald

The family in the sitcom In with the Flynns