Coleigh History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of Coleigh

What does the name Coleigh mean?

Irish names tend to vary widely in their spelling and overall form. The original Gaelic form of the name Coleigh is Mac Giolla Chuille. Cuille has been suggested to be an abbreviation of Mochuille, the name of a saint. However, other origins also exist for this name.

Early Origins of the Coleigh family

The surname Coleigh was first found in Ulster (Irish: Ulaidh), where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the Coleigh family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coleigh research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1618, 1667, 1743 and 1809 are included under the topic Early Coleigh History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coleigh Spelling Variations

Spelling variations were extremely common in medieval names, since scribes from that era recorded names according to sound rather than a standard set of rules. Coleigh has appeared in various documents spelled Cooley, Cooling, Cowley, Cully, Colly, McCooley, Coaley, Coolyng, Couley, Colley, McCowley, Cooleng, McCoolay, Coolay, Collay, Cullay, Cowleigh, Culleigh and many more.

Early Notables of the Coleigh family

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

Migration of the Coleigh family

Significant portions of the populations of both the United States and Canada are still made up of the ancestors of Dalriadan families. Some of those in Canada originally settled the United States, but went north as United Empire Loyalists in the American War of Independence. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the ancestors of many Scots on both sides of the border begin to recover their collective national heritage through Clan societies and highland games. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: William, being a mariner of New London in 1634. John Cooley settled at Salem, Massachusetts, in the year 1638. Peter Cooley was a freeman of Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1664.