Quinlan Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Quinlan Family History

Quinlan Family History

The ancient origin of the name Quinlan 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 Quinlan include Quinlevan, Kindellan and Quinland. Quinlan is the Munster form of the Gaelic O'Caoindealbhain which, in Leinster, where the sept originated, was usually anglicized as Kindellan, and in modern times as Conlan and Connellan. They were of distinguished origin, being of the Southern Ui Neill, and of the senior line of the descendants of Laoghaire, King of Ireland in St. Patrick's time. The sept was originally located in north County Meath, but was much reduced by the Anglo-Norman invasion. They retained property there until the defeat of James II. The Quinlans are among the more numerous Irish families in County Tipperary in the 1659 census and do not appear as such elsewhere in it. The name is now almost totally confined to Munster, particularly Counties Cork, Limerick and Tipperary. In Clare it is also found but under the synonym Quinlevan.The Quinlan 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 Quinlan descendants.