Fitzsimons Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Fitzsimons Family History

Fitzsimons Family History

The Fitzsimons 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 Fitzsimons include Fitzsimmons, Eddery and Fitzsimon. This name is of Norman origin having been introduced into Ireland with the Anglo-Norman invasion in the twelfth century. Families of the name arrived in County Down with John de Courcy in the year 1177 under the name Fitzsimon and another branch went to County Mayo early in the next century. They were still strong there in 1585 being in possession of Castlereagh and other Castles. The most important line of the family came to Ireland from Simonshide, in Hertfordshire, and settled in 'The Pale' in the year 1323. Since then they have been leading gentry in Counties Dublin and Westmeath. The variant Eddery is found in the 'Composition Book of Connacht' in the year 1585. The Fitzsimons 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 Fitzsimons descendants.