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![Show Contents]() O'Tool Surname History
- Origins Available:
 Ireland
Throughout history, very few Irish surnames have exclusively maintained their original forms. Before being translated into English, O'Tool appeared as Ó Tuathail, which is derived from "tuathal," which means "people mighty." Early Origins of the O'Tool familyThe surname O'Tool was first found in County Kildare (Irish:Cill Dara), ancient homeland of the Kildare based Uí Dúnlainge (Kings of Leinster), located in the Province of Leinster, seated at O'Toole's Castle, where they were descended from Tuathal, King of Leinster who died in 950 A.D. Early History of the O'Tool familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Tool research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1128, 1180, 1225, 1327, 1590, 1670 and 1722 are included under the topic Early O'Tool History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. O'Tool Spelling VariationsWithin the archives researched, many different spelling variations of the surname O'Tool were found. These included One reason for the many variations is that scribes and church officials often spelled an individual's name as it sounded. This imprecise method often led to many versions. Toole, Tool, O'Toole, O'Tool, Tooley, Toile and many more. Early Notables of the O'Tool familyProminent amongst the family at this time was - St. Laurence O'Toole
- Lorcán Ua Tuathail, also known as St Laurence O'Toole, (1128-1180), Archbishop of Dublin, canonized in 1225 by Pope Honorius III
Migration of the O'Tool familyThe 19th century saw a great wave of Irish families leaving Ireland for the distant shores of North America and Australia. These families often left their homeland hungry, penniless, and destitute due to the policies of England. Those Irish immigrants that survived the long sea passage initially settled on the eastern seaboard of the continent. Some, however, moved north to a then infant Canada as United Empire Loyalists after ironically serving with the English in the American War of Independence. Others that remained in America later joined the westward migration in search of land. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, though, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America, and those who arrived were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. In fact, the foundations of today's powerful nations of the United States and Canada were to a larger degree built by the Irish. Archival documents indicate that members of the O'Tool family relocated to North American shores quite early: Ann Tool arrived in America in 1702; Christian Tool settled in Virginia in 1726; John Tool settled in Maryland in 1775; followed by Robert in 1776; James Tool settled in Boston Mass in 1766.
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