Steele Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Steele Family History

Steele Family History

The ancient origin of the name Steele was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. Steele is a locational name from the shires so named in Ayr, Berwick, and Dumfries in Scotland. The name originated in Scandinavia. Variants of this name include Steel, Stell, Stelle and Steels. This name is of Anglo-Celtic origin and is found throughout England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It is found in many mediaeval manuscripts in the these countries. Examples of such are a Robert Stele of County Lincolnshire who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England, in the year 1273. A Willemus Steel was recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the year 1379. In Scotland a Henry Stel was recorded as a juror on inquisition on lands of Hopkelchoc in the year 1259.

In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland, especially during the seventeenth century. During the 'Plantations of Ireland' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Ireland was colonized by the English Crown with this period marking the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland. This period brought an influx of settlers into the country but, unlike the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century that resulted in a full integration into Irish society of the new arrivals, the same never occurred with the Ulster Planters who maintained their own distinct identity.

In modern times the name Steele and its variants are still well represented in Ulster as well as in County Dublin and surrounding Counties.The Steele 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 Steele descendants.