O'Cully History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of O'Cully

What does the name O'Cully mean?

Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name O'Cully is Mac Giolla Chuille. Cuille has been suggested to be an abbreviation of Mochuille, the name of a saint. However, other origins also exist for this name.

Early Origins of the O'Cully family

The surname O'Cully was first found in Ulster (Irish: Ulaidh), where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the O'Cully family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Cully research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1618, 1667, 1743 and 1809 are included under the topic Early O'Cully History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Cully Spelling Variations

Before the printing press and the first dictionaries appeared, names and other words were often spelled differently every time they were written. O'Cully has appeared under the variations Cooley, Cooling, Cowley, Cully, Colly, McCooley, Coaley, Coolyng, Couley, Colley, McCowley, Cooleng, McCoolay, Coolay, Collay, Cullay, Cowleigh, Culleigh and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Cully family

More information is included under the topic Early O'Cully Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the O'Cully family

The Scots who crossed the Atlantic were often on the run from poverty as well as persecution. They brought little with them, and often had nothing of their home country to hand down to their children. In the 20th century, Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations have helped the ancestors of Boernician Scots to recover their lost national legacy. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name O'Cully were among those contributors: William, being a mariner of New London in 1634. John Cooley settled at Salem, Massachusetts, in the year 1638. Peter Cooley was a freeman of Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1664.