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Galvin History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Sources

Galvin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of Galvin

What does the name Galvin mean?

Irish surnames have had their original forms altered in many ways. Before being translated into English, Galvin appeared as Ó Gealbhain, derived from the words "geal," which means "bright," and "ban," which means "white." 1

Early Origins of the Galvin family

The surname Galvin was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they are a sept of Thomond. 2

More recently, the family is very numerous in Kerry where it is more often spelt Gallivan. 2

Early History of the Galvin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Galvin research. Another 46 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1317, 1826, 1831, 1860, 1864, 1888, 1891 and 1904 are included under the topic Early Galvin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Galvin Spelling Variations

The spelling of names in Ireland during the Middle Ages was rarely consistent. This inconsistency was due to the scribes and church officials' attempts to record orally defined names in writing. The common practice of recording names as they sounded resulted in spelling variations such as Galvin, Gallivan, O'Galvin and others.

Early Notables of the Galvin family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

Dan Leno (1860-1904) stage name of George Wild Galvin, the famous English comedian. He was a leading English music hall comedian and musical theatre actor, best known for his music hall act and for hi...

Galvin Ranking

In the United States, the name Galvin is the 3,666^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 3

Galvin migration to the United States +

Many destitute Irish families in the 18th and 19th centuries decided to leave their homeland, which had in many ways been scarred by English colonial rule. One of the most frequent destinations for these families was North America where it was possible for an Irish family to own their own parcel of land. Many of the early settlers did find land awaiting them in British North America, or even later in America, but for the majority of immigrants that arrived as a result of the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s the ownership of land was often a long way off. These Irish people were initially put to work on such industrial projects as the building of bridges, canals, and railroads, or they worked at manufacturing positions within factories. Whenever they arrived, the Irish made enormous contributions to the infant nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the earliest immigrants to bearer the name of Galvin were found through extensive research of immigration and passenger lists:

Galvin Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

David Galvin, who settled in Maryland in 1776

Galvin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Nicholas Galvin, aged 19, who landed in Massachusetts in 1812 4
Peter Galvin, aged 36, who arrived in New York in 1812 4
J. Galvin, who settled in Baltimore Maryland in 1822
Edward Galvin, who landed in New York in 1822 4
Martin Galvin, who arrived in New York in 1839 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Galvin migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Galvin Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Denis Galvin, aged 19, who arrived in Canada in 1823
John Galvin, who settled in Quebec, Canada, in 1825
James Galvin, aged 24, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Trafalgar" from Galway, Ireland
John Galvin who landed in Canada in 1839
Mr. Daniel Galvin, aged 21 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Emigrant" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle in October 1847 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Galvin migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Galvin Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John George Galvin, (b. 1772), aged 29, Irish Farmer who was convicted in Meath, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 29th November 1801, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1832 6
Mr. William Galvin, (b. 1779), aged 30, Irish labourer who was convicted in Wicklow, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Boyd" on 10th March 1809, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. Darby Galvin, (b. 1797), aged 25, Irish ploughman who was convicted in Cork, Ireland for life for rioting, transported aboard the "Brampton" on 8th November 1822, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
James Galvin, a plasterer, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
John Galvin, a weaver, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Galvin migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Galvin Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. James Galvin, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sandford" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 9th July 1856 9
Mrs. Mary Galvin, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sandford" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 9th July 1856 9
Miss Hannah Galvin, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sandford" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 9th July 1856 9
Miss Mary Galvin, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sandford" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 9th July 1856 9
Mr. John Galvin, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sandford" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 9th July 1856 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Galvin (post 1700) +

Paul Vincent Galvin (1895-1959), American businessman, founder of Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in 1928 which later became the telecommunications company Motorola
William Francis Galvin (b. 1950), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Massachusetts State House of Representatives, 1975-90, Secretary of State of Massachusetts, 1995- 10
John Rogers Galvin (1929-2015), American army general, 6th Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Member of the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century
Christopher B. Galvin (b. 1950), American businessman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Motorola from 1997 to 2003
James Galvin (b. 1951), American poet
General (Ret.) John Rogers Galvin (b. 1929), American retired officer and former Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts
Robert W. "Bob" Galvin (b. 1922), American retired Chairman and CEO of Motorola, son of Paul Galvin
John Galvin (1907-1963), Irish Fianna Fáil politician
Charles O 'Neill Galvin (b. 1919), American lawyer and educator
James Francis "Pud" Galvin (1856-1902), American Major League Baseball pitcher, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965
... (Another 36 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Galvin family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Wilfred Stanley Galvin, British Stoker 1st Class, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 11

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Michael Galvin, American 3rd Class passenger from New York, New York, USA, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 12

Sources +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
"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)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 29)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Boyd
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 29th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Brampton
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/