Colee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of Colee

What does the name Colee mean?

Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name Colee 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 Colee family

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

Early History of the Colee family

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

Colee Spelling Variations

Medieval translation of Gaelic names could not be referred to as an accurate process. Spelling was not yet standardized, and names in documents from that era are riddled with spelling variations. Colee has been written as 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 Colee family

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

Colee migration to the United States +

The descendants of the Dalriadan families who made the great crossing of the Atlantic still dot communities along the east coast of the United States and Canada. In the American War of Independence, many of the settlers traveled north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Clan societies and highland games have allowed Canadian and American families of Scottish descent to recover much of their lost heritage. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Colee or a variant listed above include:

Colee Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Lucie Julienne Colee, aged 31, arrived in New York in 1922 aboard the ship "Rochambeau" from Le Havre, France 1

Contemporary Notables of the name Colee (post 1700) +

Otto Leonard Colee (1895-1969), American college football player and dental sturgeon
Percy Colee (1892-1944), former Australian rules footballer

Sources +

Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result