McCool Coat of Arms, Family Crest and McCool Family History

McCool Family History

The McCool 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 McCool include Coyle, McIihoyle, McCoole and McCole. The homeland of this Irish sept was in the Barony of Kilmacrenan, particularly in the parish of Meeragh. The name is most numerous today in Donegal but is rarely found in Ulster. In the 1659 census we find the name Coyle is a principal Irish name in Roscommon and MacIichole for the Barony of Kilmacrenan in County Donegal. A famous bearer of the name was Rev. Anthony Coyle, who was Bishop of Raphoe from 1782 to 1801, and who was noted for his Gaelic Irish poetry and religious works. The forms of the name, McCole and McCool, are both mostly found in Donegal.The McCool 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 McCool descendants.