| ![Show Contents]() Reel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 Ireland The Reel surname originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Raghailligh, which means descendant of Raghallach. Early Origins of the Reel familyThe surname Reel was first found in County Cavan. They were known as the Princes of East Breffny, descended from Raghallaigh, Prince of Breffny in 981. They maintained their territory during the Anglo/Norman invasion of Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, in 1172, but Sir John O'Reilly, Prince of Breffny surrendered the principality to Queen Elizabeth I thereby ensuring that his territories remained intact. Early History of the Reel familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Reel research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1598, 1630, 1640, 1646, 1667, 1669, 1689, 1691, 1695 and 1703 are included under the topic Early Reel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Reel Spelling VariationsIrish names were rarely spelled consistently in the Middle Ages. Spelling variations of the name Reel dating from that time include O'Reilly, O'Reilley, O'Reily, O'Rielly, O'Riely, O'Riley, O'Rilley, Reel and many more. Early Notables of the Reel familyNotable amongst the family name at this time was Count John O'Reilly; Edmund O'Reilly (1598-1669), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh; Hugh Reily (Reilly or O’Reilly) (c.1630-1695) Irish Member of Parliament for Cavan Borough in the Patriot Parliament of 1689; Philip Og O’Reilly (Gaelic was Phillip Óg O’Raghallaigh)(c.1640-1703), Irish...
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Reel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Reel RankingIn the United States, the name Reel is the 5,045th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1
 Reel migration to the United States | + |
To escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, thousands of Irish left their homeland in the 19th century. These migrants typically settled in communities throughout the East Coast of North America, but also joined the wagon trains moving out to the Midwest. Ironically, when the American War of Independence began, many Irish settlers took the side of England, and at the war's conclusion moved north to Canada. These United Empire Loyalists, were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Other Irish immigrants settled in Newfoundland, the Ottawa Valley, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, however, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America and Australia. Many of those numbers, however, did not live through the long sea passage. These Irish settlers to North America were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Reel or a variant listed above, including:
Reel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Simon Reel, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1729 2
- Jonnas Reel, aged 38, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1742 2
- Matthias Reel, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1749 2
- William Reel, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1761 2
Reel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- George Reel, aged 27, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1832 2
- Henry Reel, who arrived in Texas in 1835 2
- James Reel, who landed in Texas in 1835 2
- Daniel Reel, who arrived in Texas in 1835 2
- Solomon Reel, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 2
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
| Contemporary Notables of the name Reel (post 1700) | + |
- William J. Reel, American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from North Canaan; Elected 1912, 1920 3
- William Albert Reel Jr., American politician, Member of South Carolina State Senate from Edgefield County, 1965-66 3
- Estelle Reel, American Republican politician, Wyoming superintendent of public instruction, 1895-98 3
- Elizabeth D. Reel, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Presidential Elector for Pennsylvania, 1928 3
- E. J. Reel, American politician, Mayor of Orlando, Florida, 1885-87 3
- A. Frank Reel, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Mayor of Tarrytown, New York, 1955; Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 25th District, 1962 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)
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
|
Reel migration to the United States 
