Callinan Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Callinan Family History

Callinan Family History

The ancient origin of the name Callinan 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 Callinan include Callanan, Calnan and Calnane. These names are derived from the Gaelic O'Callanain sept who were a medical family to the ruling McCarthys in Carbery, County Cork.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

One of the sept, Angus O'Callanan, wrote a medical treatise for MacCarthy Reagh in the year 1403 and another was the chief scribe of the book of Lismore in the year 1475. Of the various spellings of the name Callinan is usual in County Clare and Callanan in Counties Galway and Cork. Calnan and Calnane are the other two main variant spellings. Six of the name appear in King James army lists, most belonging to the Regiment of the Hon. Nicholas Browne.The Callinan 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 Callinan descendants.