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| Origins Available: |
| | Ireland |
The surname Nelan was derived from the Gaelic "O Niallain," which means "descendant of Niall."
The surname Nelan was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nelan research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1570 is included under the topic Early Nelan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The recording of names in Ireland during the Middle Ages was an inconsistent endeavor at best. Since the general population did not know how to read or write, they could only specify how their names should be recorded orally. Research into the name Nelan revealed spelling variations, including O'Neilan, O'Neylan, Neilan, Neylan, O'Nelan and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Nelan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the Nelan family came to North America quite early:
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: