Callan Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Callan Family History

Callan Family History

The Callan ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

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 Callan include Cahalane, Callann, Culhane and Callen. In Irish this name is O'Cathalain and the variants listed are the anglicized forms of this Gaelic name. The ancestor of the Oriel sept of O'Cathalain was Cathalan, King of Farney, who was slain in the year 1028. We find the name frequently in the Fiants, Monastic Extents, Hearth Money Rolls and the Petty Census of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Another sept of the name was found in County Roscommon in early mediaeval times but the name is rare there today. In early mediaeval records in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries we find the spelling 'de Callan'. A David de Callan was Mayor of Dublin in 1280.The Callan 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 Callan descendants.