Can anyone tell me the origins of the surname Gaynor?

Question:

Can anyone tell me the origins of the surname Gaynor?

He was from Northern Ireland- (Larne) but the name doesn't strike me as either Irish, Scottish or Catholic (he was a Catholic).
Further- Larne is known to be a Protestant majority area.

Any help? Is it common/unusual?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: First Name
Gaynor
English: a medieval form of the name of Arthur's queen, Guinevere, recently undergoing a strong revival in popularity.
A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0192800507
Last Name
Gaynor
Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mag Fhionnbhairr ‘son of Fionnbharr’, a personal name composed of fionn ‘fair’, ‘white’ + barr ‘top’, ‘head’.
Welsh and English: from the female personal name Gaenor (a form of Welsh Gwenhwyfar, a compound of gwen ‘fair’, ‘white’ + (g)wyf ‘smooth’, ‘yielding’ + fawr ‘large’. This was the name of King Arthur’s queen Guinevere).

Place of
Origin Gaynor Immigrants
Ireland 189
England 59
Great Britain 26
United Kingdom 6
See Liverpool List 4
Germany 3
I don't think it is that common, I certainly have never heard it has a surname, and I only know one lady with the name as a christian name, hope this helps. Source(s):
www.ancestry.com The following was given as place of origin by Gaynor immigrants to the U. S.

Ireland 189

England 59

Great Britain 26

United Kingdom 6

Liverpool list 4

Germany 3

Meaning - Irish reduced form of Gaelic
Mag Fhionnbbhair, son of Finbar, a personal name of fionn (fair) barr (white)

You are right to question what area of Northern Ireland a person is from. Most of the population and the Protestants live in and around Belfast (County Antrim). Counties Fermanagh, Armagh and Tyrone and the southern 2/3rds of Derry, 1/5 of Down have majority Catholic populations.
Too many people assume if a person's ancestors are from Northern Ireland they must have been Protestant. It appears to be Irish in origin and, because of migration, there are quite a lot in the USA. At the last Census, there were around 10,000 people in the UK with that surname. 3,303 in the county of Argyll & Bute, Scotland, 1,643 in Belfast, 1,711 in Staffordshire and 3,327 in Greater London plus a few random people in other places. Gaynor=Irish.

Sounds kind of common. I think I knew someone with the last name before. http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?na... I knew 2 girls with Gaynor as their first names. Havent seen it as a surname.