Calkins History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of Calkins

What does the name Calkins mean?

The Irish name Calkins has been taken as synonym for many other names. The Gaelic form of the name Calkins was generally Mac Cathmhaoil. The name Caulfield was used by people of the Irish names Ó Gamhna, Ó Caibheanaigh and Mac Conghamhna, and Mac Carrghamhna. 1 The Anglicized form of these last four Irish surnames is Gaffney, but for some obscure reason, this has often been changed to Caulfield.

Early Origins of the Calkins family

The surname Calkins was first found in Fermanagh (Irish: Fear Manach) in the southwestern part of Northern Ireland, Province of Ulster, where they held a family seat from ancient times. They were directly descended from King Colla da Crioch through the Maguires, Princes of Fermanagh.

Castle Caulfield is a large ruined house in Castlecaulfield, County Tyrone. At one time, the building was three stories high with large windows and tall chimney stacks. A wooden joist from the castle eludes to the age of the building as about 1282.

The Caulfeild Coat of Arms is still seen over the entrance. Nearby, Sir Toby Caulfeild, 1st Baron Caulfeild (1565-1627) built a house on the site of an earlier O'Donnelly castle. It was burned in the Irish Rebellion of 1641, but was rebuilt in the 1660s. Today Castle Caulfield is a ruin and declared a State Care Historic Monument.

Early History of the Calkins family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Calkins research. Another 219 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1530, 1545, 1565, 1570, 1587, 1607, 1621, 1622, 1624, 1627, 1640, 1642, 1671, 1682, 1685, 1715, 1716, 1717, 1726 and 1734 are included under the topic Early Calkins History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Calkins Spelling Variations

Those scribes in Ireland during the Middle Ages recorded names as they sounded. Consequently, in this era many people were recorded under different spellings each time their name was written down. Research on the Calkins family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Caulfeild, Caulkin, Calfkins, Cawlfield, Cawfield, MacCaul, MacCawell and many more.

Early Notables of the Calkins family

Notable among the family name at this time was Sir Toby or Tobias Caulfeild first Baron Charlemont (1565-1627), descended from a family which had been settled in Oxfordshire for many generations, his father being Alexander Caulfeild of Great Milton in that county. 2Continuing this noble line was: William Caulfeild (1587-1640), 2nd Baron Caulfeild; Toby Caulfeild (1621-1642), 3rd Baron Caulfeild; Robert Caulfeild (1622-1642), 4th Baron Caulfeild; William Caulfeild...
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Calkins Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Calkins Ranking

In the United States, the name Calkins is the 3,228^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 3

Calkins 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 Calkins or a variant listed above:

Calkins Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Hugh Calkins, who landed in New London, Connecticut in 1638 4

Calkins Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jonathan Calkins, who arrived in Georgia in 1741 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Calkins (post 1700) +

Blean Anson Calkins (1921-2003), American sports radio broadcaster
Homer D. Calkins (1911-1996), American environmentalist
Leslie Anne Calkins, American actress
William Henry Calkins (1842-1894), U.S. Representative from Indiana
Irving Romaro Calkins (1875-1958), American Olympic gold medalist for shooting at the 1908 games 5
Earnest Elmo Calkins (1868-1964), American advertising executive
Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930), American philosopher and psychologist
Dick Calkins (1895-1962), American comic strip artist
Bradley "Buzz" Calkins (b. 1971), former American Indy Racing League driver
B. E. Calkins, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Montana, 1904 6
... (Another 22 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Calkins Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Deo duce ferro comitante
Motto Translation: God is my guide,and my sword is my companion.

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
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/
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)
Athletes - Famous Olympic Athletes, Medalists, Sports Heroes. (Retrieved 2011, November 10) Irving Calkins. Retrieved from http://www.olympic.org/athletes?search=1&game=201621&page=12
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html