Halpin Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Halpin Family History

Halpin Family History

The Halpin ancient family history 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 Halpin include Hallpin, Halpen, Halpeny and Halfpenny. This name in Irish is O'hAilpin and the latter variants are the anglicized form of this. This sept came from County Monaghan.

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.

As well as the Monaghan sept there was also a sept of Halpin in Counties Limerick and Clare and by the sixteenth century most of the Halpins were from County Limerick with the Halpenys being from County Monaghan. Ancient records exist listing a John Halpeny as a Juror in North Meath in the year 1541. In the list of Irish Kern mustered for service under the King of England no less than fourteen, including the Captain, were Halpenys. MacAlpin is a Scottish variant of the name.The Halpin 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 Halpin descendants.