Carolan Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Carolan Family History

Carolan Family History

The ancient origin of the name Carolan 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 Carolan include Carolane. There are two distinct Gaelic septs whose surname is not identical in Irish are called O'Carolan in English. As recognized septs both faded from history by the end of the thirteenth century, though individuals of the names continued to dwell in their ancient territory long after that. O'Caireallain was Chief of Clan Diarmada, from which comes the name of the parish of Clondermot in County Derry. O'Caireallain assumed the anglicized form of Carleton and Carlin as well as Carolan. O'Cearbhallain was also of Ulster, being located chiefly in Cavan and Monaghan, from where they crossed into the Leinster County of Meath. The Mediaeval ecclesiastical records of the dioceses of Raphoe and Derry contain the names of many priests called O'Carolan, three of whom were bishops of Derry in the thirteenth century.The Carolan 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 Carolan descendants.