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Killeen History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Killeen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

The Irish surname Killeen originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Cillin. 1

Early Origins of the Killeen family

The surname Killeen was first found in County Mayo (Irish: Maigh Eo) located on the West coast of the Republic of Ireland in the province of Connacht, where they held territories was at Ballykilleen since early times. This lofty family were the ancient Chiefs of Fingal, Earls of Fingal and Lords Killeen.

Saint Kilian, (also spelled Killian) from the Irish: Cillian, (c. 640-689) was an Irish missionary bishop and the apostle of Franconia. He was born in Mullagh, County Cavan, and is the patron saint of the parish of Tuosist, in County Kerry. Saint Kilian's feast day is July 8th and St. Kilian's Abbey, at Würzburg is named after him.

Today there are two Killeen Castles in Ireland: one located at Dunsany, in County Meath, that dates back to about 1180, but today's structure is a restoration of the 19th century after a fire in 1981. It will include a luxury golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus. The second Killeen Castle is a 17th century castle at Killeen, in Castlegar, County Galway.

There are some scanty records of the family in Scotland, but they are rather late: "John Killan in Cleckaime, parish of Lesmahago, 1677, and Robert Killand in Deidwatters, parish of Lesmahago, 1678. This name in Irish is O'Cilleain, descendant of Cillean, a diminutive of Ceallach, an ancient and once very common name." 2

Early History of the Killeen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Killeen research. Another 122 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1180 and 1981 are included under the topic Early Killeen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Killeen Spelling Variations

The scribes who created documents long before either the Gaelic or English language resembled their standardized versions of today recorded words as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages the names of many people were recorded under different spellings each time they were written down. Research on the Killeen family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Killeen, Killen, Killion, Killian, Killin, Gilin, Killan, Killoon, O'Killen, McKillen and many more.

Early Notables of the Killeen family

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

Killeen Ranking

In the United States, the name Killeen is the 12,194^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Killeen migration to the United States +

Suffering from poverty and racial discrimination, thousands of Irish families left the island in the 19th century for North America aboard cramped passenger ships. The early migrants became settlers of small tracts of land, and those that came later were often employed in the new cities or transitional work camps. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Although the immigrants from this period were often maligned when they arrived in the United States, they provided the cheap labor that was necessary for the development of that country as an industrial power. Early immigration and passenger lists have revealed many immigrants bearing the name Killeen:

Killeen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Killeen, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1847 4
Francis and John Killeen, who arrived in Philadelphia, PA between 1840 and 1860

Killeen migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Killeen Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mary Killeen, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1828
Timothy Killeen, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1831
John Killeen, aged 6, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the schooner "Jane" from Galway, Ireland
Thomas Killeen, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1834
Patrick Killeen, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Mary" in 1838
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Killeen migration to Australia +

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

Killeen Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Peter Killeen, (Killien, Killen, Killyan), (b. 1806), aged 20, Irish farm servant who was convicted in County Monaghan, Ireland for 7 years for pick pocketing, transported aboard the "Boyne" on 28th October 1826, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1889 5
Mr. John Killeen, (b. 1804), aged 27, Irish soldier from Galway who was convicted in India for life for attempted murder, transported aboard the "Caroline" on 31st July 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Ellen Killeen, aged 24, a farm servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Emerald Isle" 7
Thomas Killeen, aged 22, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "David Malcolm" 8
Thomas Killeen, aged 20, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "David Malcolm" 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Killeen 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:

Killeen Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

James Killeen, aged 23, a carpenter, who arrived in Hawkes Bay aboard the ship "Renfrewshire" in 1878
Mary Killeen, aged 24, a servant, who arrived in Napier aboard the ship "Rakaia" in 1879

Contemporary Notables of the name Killeen (post 1700) +

Frank P Killeen, American railroad executive after who the town of Killeen, Texas was named in 1881
Graham Killeen (b. 1980), American filmmaker and critic
James R. Killeen, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1984 9
Henry W. Killeen, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1916 (alternate), 1920 9
Harold T. Killeen, American politician, Delegate to New Hampshire State Constitutional Convention from Walpole, 1948; Delegate to New Hampshire State Constitutional Convention from Walpole, 1956 9
George F. Killeen, American politician, Candidate for justice of Michigan State Supreme Court, 1994 9
George Killeen, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from District of Columbia, 1912, 1916 9
Ernest J. Killeen, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Delaware, 1956, 1960 9
E. F. Killeen, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Wisconsin, 1936 9
Bernard J. Killeen, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for U.S. Representative from Michigan 1st District, 1940 9
... (Another 14 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Killeen family +

Monongah Mine

Mr. Thomas Killeen (b. 1868), Lithuanian coal miner who was in mine 8 at the Monongah mine on 6th December 1907 when it exploded and collapsed; he died 10

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
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)
"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Boyne
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/caroline
South Australian Register Tuesday 17th January 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Emerald Isle 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/emeraldisle1854.shtml
South Australian Register Tuesday 1st May 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) David Malcolm 1855. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/davidmalcolm1855.shtml
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 6) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Monongah Mining Disaster retrieved on 8th August 2021. (Retrieved fromhttps://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/monongah.htm).