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Culling History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Culling History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

While many Irish names are familiar, their past incarnations are often shrouded in mystery, reflecting the ancient Gaelic heritage of their bearers. The original Gaelic form of the name Culling is "Mac Cuilinn" or "Ó Cuilinn," which are from the word "cuileann," which means "holly." 1

They descend from Heber, who with his brother Heremon ruled Ireland. 2 Culen or Colin, son of Indulph, was King of Scotland or Alba (967-71?) "His father, Indulph, was the first king who occupied Edinburgh, up to that time within Anglian Northumbria. " 3

Early Origins of the Culling family

The surname Culling was first found in the southeast of Ireland, in the counties of Dublin, Wicklow, and Wexford. Although all but one of the many distinct septs have become extinct, this remaining sept currently provides Ireland with nearly 8000 members, enough to make Cullen the 84th most common name in Ireland.

Descended from Olioll Flann Beag, king of Munster, the Cullens made their original homeland at Glencullen, in Wicklow, and they have remained there to the present day, despite the threat of their more powerful neighbors, the O'Tooles and the O'Byrnes. They were an influential family, as indicated by the inclusion of Cullen of Cullenstown among the leading gentry of Wexford in the Clongowes manuscript of 1598.

Due to the prominence of this sept, a number of similarly-named minor septs also adopted the name Cullen, including O Cuileamhain of south Leinster, which is also rendered Culloon or Culhoun, and Mac Cuilin of Leitrim, which is also Anglicized MacCullen.

Early History of the Culling family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Culling research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1516, 1517, 1528, 1531, 1534, 1542, 1659, 1803 and 1878 are included under the topic Early Culling History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Culling Spelling Variations

Official documents, crafted by early scribes and church officials, primarily contained names that were spelled according to their pronunciation. This lead to the problem of one name being recorded under several different variations, creating an illusion that a single person was many people. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Culling that are preserved in the archival documents of the time are Cullen, Cullan, Cullane, O'Cullen, Cullain, Cullin, Cullon, McCullen, MacCullen, O'Cullane, Culen, Culan, Culain, Cullaine, Culaine, MacCulen, MacCollin, MacColin, O'Colen, O'Collen, O'Cuilin, O'Cuillin, O'Culane, O'Culen, O'Culhoon, O'Culloon, MacCullen, Cullain, Culon, Cullon, Culling and many more.

Early Notables of the Culling family

Notable among the family name at this time was Patrick O'Cullen, (d. 1534), Bishop of Clogher (1517-1542.) He "was an Augustinian hermit and prior of St. John without Newgate in Dublin. He was appointed to the see of Clogher by Leo X on 11 Feb. 1516. In 1528 the Pope granted him a dispensation from residence on account of the poverty of his see, which had been so wasted in the wars that it was not...
Another 76 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Culling Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Culling migration to the United States +

The 18th and 19th centuries saw many Irish families immigrate to North America in search of land and opportunities. The largest influx of Irish immigrants to the United States and British North America came during the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine laid waste to their homeland. Hundreds of thousands left the island in an attempt to escape the starvation and disease it brought. Although the arrival of such a large number of destitute Irish was not welcomed by the established population in the United States and what would become known as Canada at the time, these Irish were an essential element to the rapid development of these growing industrial nations. They filled the demand for the cheap labor needed for the work in factories and in the construction of bridges, roads, canals, and railways. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many immigrants bearing the name of Culling or one of its variants:

Culling Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Culling, who landed in America in 1760-1763 4

Culling migration to Australia +

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

Culling Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Charles Culling, English convict who was convicted in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 20th August 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Mr. John Culling, (b. 1786), aged 44, English ploughman who was convicted in Norfolk, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 20th August 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Mr. Philip Culling, (b. 1825), aged 17, English convict who was convicted in Ely (Isle of Ely), Cambridgeshire, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 28th July 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1903 6
Daniel Culling, aged 20, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Frenchman"
Patrick Culling, aged 22, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Frenchman"
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Culling 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:

Culling Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Joseph Culling, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ashmore" in 1854
Clement G. Culling, aged 19, a labourer, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Chile" in 1874
Walter Culling, aged 29, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rakaia" in 1879
Ellen Culling, aged 22, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rakaia" in 1879
Maria Culling, aged 1, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rakaia" in 1879

Contemporary Notables of the name Culling (post 1700) +

Flight Sub-Lieutenant Thomas Grey Culling (1896-1917), New Zealand's first World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories
Sir Culling Eardley Eardley (1805-1863), 3rd Baronet, born Culling Eardley Smith, an English Christian campaigner for religious freedom, one of the founders of the Evangelical Alliance 7

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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 19th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 23rd March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020