Coultas History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The ancient Scottish kingdom of Dalriada is thought to be the home of the ancestors of the Coultas family. Their name comes from someone having lived in or near Coulter in Lanarkshire or Aberdeenshire, in Scotland. The surname Coultas is derived from the Gaelic phrase, cúl tir, which means, black land. Coultas is therefore a local surname, of which there are many types. For instance, topographic surnames could be given to a person who lived beside any physical feature, such as a hill, stream, church or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. In this case, the surname is both topographical, in that it comes from the phrase, black land, and local in the general sense, since it comes from the place-name, Coulter.

Early Origins of the Coultas family

The surname Coultas was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow, where they held a family seat from very early times.

Some of the first records include: Richard of Culter, sheriff of Lanark, appears in record in 1226; and Alexander de Cultre witnessed a grant by Maldoueny, earl of Lennox to Stephen de Blantyr, c. 1248. "Andrew de Cultyr who held land in Aberdeen in 1281 doubtless derived his name from the lands of Coulter in Aberdeenshire." 1

Early History of the Coultas family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coultas research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1226, 1281, 1686, 1810 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Coultas History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coultas Spelling Variations

In the Middle Ages, the translation between Gaelic and English was not a highly developed process. Spelling was not yet standardized, and so, an enormous number of spelling variations appear in records of early Scottish names. Coultas has appeared as Coulter, Colter, Coalter, Coultere, Coultar, Coultur, Coltar, Coltur, Coltir, Coltire and many more.

Early Notables of the Coultas family

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

Migration of the Coultas family to Ireland

Some of the Coultas family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 75 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coultas migration to the United States +

Dalriadan families proliferated in North America. Their descendants still populate many communities in the eastern parts of both the United States and Canada. Some settled in Canada as United Empire Loyalists, in the wake of the American War of Independence. Families on both sides of the border have recovered much of their heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and highland games. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Coultas or a variant listed above:

Coultas Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Coultas, who landed in New York in 1831 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Coultas (post 1700) +

Brenda Coultas, American poet, winner of the 2004 Norma Farber First Book Award for her A Handmade Museum

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
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)