Kilpatrick Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Kilpatrick Family History

Kilpatrick Family History

The ancient origin of the name Kilpatrick 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 Kilpatrick include Gilpatrick, Fitzpatrick, Kirkpatrick, McKilpatrick and Macgilpatrick. These names are taken from the Gaelic Mac Giolla Phadraig sept whose name translates as 'devotee of Saint Patrick'. The main sept was located in Ossory, COunty Kilkenny, but the name is also well represented in Ulster and particularly in County Fermanagh where families of the name were a branch of the McGuires. In Kilkenny the name is more often rendered as Fitzpatrick while in Ulster it is Kilpatrick. The great ancestor of bearers of these names was Giolla Padraig, the warlike chief of Ossory, who lived in the tenth century. They were one of the first Irish septs to lose lands during the reign of Henry the Eighth, and later, lost considerably through their loyalty to King James II.The Kilpatrick 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 Kilpatrick descendants.