Spillane Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Spillane Family History

Spillane Family History

The Spillane 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 Spillane include Spollan and Spellman. This name in Irish is O'Spealain and the latter variants are the anglicized forms of this. This sept came from Tipperary and Sligo.

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.

There were two septs of the name. One possessed territory in the Barony of Eliogarty, County Tipperary but were dispossessed by the O'Dwyers in mediaeval times. After this most of the family were well spread throughout the country. The other sept is of the Ui Fiachrach, with their territory being found in the parish of Kilglas, County Sligo. Through time in this area a lot of the family had changed their name to Spellman and this form is quite numerous in Counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. In modern times this name is found well spread throughout Southern Ireland.The Spillane 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 Spillane descendants.