Cahalan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Wales

The Welsh name Cahalan is from the hills and Moors of Wales where a very particular Celtic culture thrived. This name was created when the family lived in any of such places as Carlton in Bedfordshire, Cambridge, Durham, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Northumberland, Suffolk, or the East Riding of Yorkshire, or in one of the places called Carleton in Cumberland Lancashire, Norfolk, or the West Riding of Yorkshire. One of the reasons for the numerous entries of the place name is that the name literally means "farmstead or estate of the freemen" 1

Early Origins of the Cahalan family

The surname Cahalan was first found in Herefordshire, but one family was found at Whitton in Shropshire in early times. "Here is a farmhouse formerly a seat of the Charltons, where James II. visited: a chamber in it contains some superior tapestry of that period." 2

Early History of the Cahalan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cahalan research. Another 124 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1268, 1300, 1336, 1353, 1360, 1361, 1362, 1369, 1374, 1401, 1559, 1560, 1562, 1573, 1599, 1601, 1605, 1618, 1619, 1628, 1632, 1638, 1642, 1654, 1660, 1661, 1672, 1673, 1678, 1679, 1685 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Cahalan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cahalan Spelling Variations

There are relatively few surnames native to Wales, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. Early variations of Welsh surnames can be explained by the fact that very few people in the early Middle Ages were literate. Priests and the few other literate people were responsible for recording names in official documents. And because most people could not specific how to properly record their names it was up to the individual recorder of that time to determine how a spoken name should be recorded. Variations due to the imprecise or improper recording of a name continued later in history when names originally composed in the Brythonic Celtic, language of Wales, known by natives as Cymraeg, were transliterated into English. Welsh names that were documented in English often changed dramatically since the native language of Wales, which was highly inflected, did not copy well. Occasionally, however, spelling variations were carried out according to an individual's specific design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by minor variations. The spelling variations of the name Cahalan have included Carleton, Carlton, Charleton, Charlton and others.

Early Notables of the Cahalan family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was John Charleton, (1268-1353), 1st Baron Cherleton, 1st Lord Charlton of Powys, British baron; John Charleton, (c. 1300-1360), 2nd Baron Cherleton, 2nd Lord Charlton of Powys, British baron; John Charleton, (c. 1336-1374), 3rd Baron Cherleton, 3rd Lord Charlton of Powys, British baron; John Charleton (Cherleton or Charlton), (1362-1401), 4th Baron Cherleton, 4th Lord Charlton of Powys; Lewis de Charleton (or Lewis Charlton, Lewes de Cherlton) (died 1369), Bishop of Hereford (1361-1369); Sir John Carleton 'of the Bower', notorious Border fighter; Richard Carleton (1560-1638), English composer; Dudley Carleton, Viscount Dorchester...
Another 97 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cahalan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cahalan family to Ireland

Some of the Cahalan family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 141 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cahalan migration to the United States +

North America in the 1800s and 1900s saw the arrival of many Welsh people hoping to share in the wealth of land, work, and freedom that they felt North America held. Those who made the journey often attained those expectations, but only through an enormous amount of hard work, perseverance, and often a bout of good luck. These immigrants helped contribute to the growth of industry, commerce, and culture of both Canada and the United States. Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Cahalan:

Cahalan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Cahalan, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1870 3

Cahalan 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:

Cahalan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Sarah Cahalan, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Triumph" in 1883

Contemporary Notables of the name Cahalan (post 1700) +

Susannah Cahalan (b. 1985), American journalist and author, known for writing the memoir Brain on Fire, about her hospitalization with a rare auto-immune disease, anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis
Robert F. Cahalan (b. 1946), American Emeritus Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and previous Chief of the Laboratory for Climate and Radiation (2003–2013)
Sinéad Cahalan, Irish camogie player and teacher at Creagh National School who won Camogie All Star awards in 2005 and 2008 and played in the All Ireland final 2008, 2010 and 2011
Cissie Cahalan (1876-1948), Irish trade unionist, feminist, and suffragette
Adrienne Cahalan (b. 1964), Australian sailor, the only woman who competed in the 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race
Vera Cahalan Bushfield (1889-1976), American Republican politician, U.S. Senator from South Dakota, 1948 4

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html