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Whalen History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Whalen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

Etymology of Whalen

What does the name Whalen mean?

Many variations of the name Whalen have evolved since the time of its initial creation. In Gaelic it appeared as Ó Faoilain, which is derived from the word faol, which means wolf. 1

Early Origins of the Whalen family

The surname Whalen was first found in County Waterford (Irish: Port Láirge), anciently the Deise region, on the South coast of Ireland in the Province of Munster.

Saint Fillan, Foilan or Felan (d. 777?), was an Irish missionary in Scotland in the middle of the eighth century. "His commemoration day in the Scottish calendar is 9 Jan. He was the son of Feredach, a prince in Munster, and Kentigerna, daughter of Kellach Cualann, king of Leinster, and sister to St. Congan. Being thrown into a river on his birth on account of deformity, he was rescued by St. Ibar. He became a monk at first in one of the monasteries of St. Munnu Fintan, and subsequently went from Ireland to the part of Argyll afterwards called Ross, where two churches, Kilkoan and Killellan, derive their names respectively from his uncle Congan and himself. A cave and a church were also named from him in Fife." 2

Early History of the Whalen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whalen research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1658 and 1680 are included under the topic Early Whalen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whalen Spelling Variations

Within the archives researched, many different spelling variations of the surname Whalen were found. These included One reason for the many variations is that scribes and church officials often spelled an individual's name as it sounded. This imprecise method often led to many versions. Phelan, O'Phelan, Whelan, O'Failin, Phalen, Phalon, Phaelan and many more.

Early Notables of the Whalen family

Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Whalen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whalen World Ranking

In the United States, the name Whalen is the 1,668^th most popular surname with an estimated 17,409 people with that name. 3 However, in Canada, the name Whalen is ranked the 909^th most popular surname with an estimated 5,926 people with that name. 4 And in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Whalen is the 79^th popular surname with an estimated 353 people with that name. 5

Whalen migration to the United States +

A massive amount of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century for North America and Australia in hopes of finding more opportunities and an escape from discrimination and oppression. A great portion of these migrants arrived on the eastern shores of the North American continent. Although they were generally poor and destitute, and, therefore, again discriminated against, these Irish people were heartily welcomed for the hard labor involved in the construction of railroads, canals, roadways, and buildings. Many others were put to work in the newly established factories or agricultural projects that were so essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s initiated the largest wave of Iris immigration. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name Whalen or a variant listed above:

Whalen Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Whalen, who arrived in America in 1797 6

Whalen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Whalen, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 6
Joseph Whalen, aged 28, who landed in St Louis, Missouri in 1844 6
Morris Whalen, who arrived in Somerset County, Pennsylvania in 1844 6
Edward Whalen, who landed in Tippecanoe County, Ind in 1847 6
Manis Whalen, who arrived in Somerset County, Pennsylvania in 1848 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Whalen Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Ann Whalen, aged 25, who landed in America from Dublin, in 1900
Annie Whalen, aged 11, who settled in America from Lismore, in 1901
Edward Whalen, aged 29, who landed in America, in 1909
Delia Whalen, aged 19, who immigrated to the United States from Kilrush, Ireland, in 1914
Annie Whalen, aged 18, who landed in America from Cloonally, Galway, Ireland, in 1915
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Whalen migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Whalen Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Alexander Whalen, aged 29, who settled in St Johns, Newfoundland in 1905

Contemporary Notables of the name Whalen (post 1700) +

Bob Whalen (b. 1957), American college head baseball coach of Dartmouth since the start of the 1990 season
Charles William Whalen Jr (1920-2011), American politician, Member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Ohio State Senate, and the United States House of Representatives
Douglas H. Whalen, American linguist, long-standing member of Haskins Laboratories in New Haven Connecticut where he is a Senior Scientist and Vice President for Research
Sean Whalen (b. 1964), American actor from Washington D.C., known for The People Under the Stairs (1991), Twister (1996) and Never Been Kissed (1999)
William Jerome Whalen III (1940-2006), 10th director of the United States National Park Service
William Joseph Whalen (1926-2008), American non-fiction writer
Thomas "Tom" Michael Whalen III (1934-2002), American politician, three-term mayor of Albany, New York
Lindsay Marie Whalen (b. 1982), American professional basketball player
Joe Whalen (1916-1994), American tennis player
Grover Aloysius Whalen (1886-1962), American politician and businessman, president of the New York World Fair Corporation
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Whalen family +

Halifax Explosion

Mrs. Georgina Whalen, Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 7
Mr. Patrick Whalen, Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 7
Mr. William Whalen, Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 7
Mr. Thomas Whalen (1900-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 7
Master John Byron Whalen (1905-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 7

SS Newfoundland

Mr. Edward Whalen, Newfoundlander from St. John's, who on the 30th March 1914 he was part of the Seal Crew of the "SS Newfoundland" leaving the ship to intercept the Stephano which took him to the hunting grounds, he disembarked to begin sealing, but was caught in a thickening storm, attempting to return to the Newfoundland he and the 132 crew made camp for two days the sealers were stranded on the ice in a blizzard attempting to return to the ship, he survived

USS Indianapolis

Stuart Denton Whalen, American crew member on board the ship "USS Indianapolis" when she was on a top secret trip for the first nuclear weapon, she was sunk by Japanese Navy on 30th July 1945, he was one of the many who were killed in the sinking due to exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning and shark attacks 8

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
Final Crew List, retrieved 2021, October 30th Retrieved from https://www.ussindianapolis.com/final-crew