Collen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
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 Collen 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 Collen family

The surname Collen 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 Collen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Collen 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 Collen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Collen Spelling Variations

One explanation for the many variations is that scribes and church officials frequently spelled the name as it sounded: an imprecise method at best. Understandably then, various spellings of the surname Collen were found in the many archives researched. These included 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 Collen 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 Collen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Collen migration to the United States +

Many Irish families boarded ships bound for North America in the middle of 19th century to escape the conditions of poverty and racial discrimination at that time. Although these immigrants often arrived in a destitute state, they went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. An inquiry into many immigration and passenger lists has revealed many early immigrants to North America bearing the Collen family name:

Collen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Bryan Collen, who landed in New York, NY in 1804 4
Stephen William Collen, who arrived in Mississippi in 1850 4
Mr. Collen, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 4

Collen migration to Australia +

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

Collen Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mary Collen, aged 20, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Utopia"

Contemporary Notables of the name Collen (post 1700) +

Tom Collen (b. 1953), American head college women's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas (2012)
Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Collen (b. 1968), nee Tarrolly, an American actress, married to Phil Collen
Désiré Collen (b. 1943), Belgian physician and chemist, recipient of the Francqui Prize on Biological and Medical Sciences (1984)
Henry Collen (1797-1879), English miniature portrait painter to Queen Victoria and the Duchess of Kent, known for producing one of the first sets of photocopies of The Treaty of Nanking
Lindsey Collen (b. 1948), Mauritian novelist, two-time winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best Book, Africa (1994, 2005)
Pieter Collen (b. 1980), Belgian footballer
Philip Kenneth "Phil" Collen (b. 1957), English guitarist and vocalist for the rock band Def Leppard

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)