Mulhern Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Mulhern Family History

Mulhern Family History

The ancient origin of the name Mulhern 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 Mulhern include Mulkerrin, Mulherrin, Mulherin, Mulkerran and Mulhearn. This name in Irish is O'Maoilchiarain and the latter variants are the anglicized forms of this. This sept came from Roscommon.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

This name means 'follower of Saint Ciaran'. This sept originated in Roscommon with a branch being located in Counties Armagh and Donegal. They were Erenaghs of Ardcarne and the Four Masters refer to one of them as being slain in the year 1012. They were notable as ecclesiastics. Denis O'Mulcheran, 1224, was Bishop of Elphin and Maelisa O'Mulkieran, 1197, was Bishop of Clogher. In America the name is usually spelt Mulherin or Mulherrin with the form Mulkerrin confined to Connacht. The other forms are found mostly in Ulster.The Mulhern 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 Mulhern descendants.