Show ContentsDoulan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

  • Origins Available:
  • Ireland
Doulan Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Doulan

What does the name Doulan mean?

Throughout history, very few Irish surnames have exclusively maintained their original forms. Before being translated into English from Irish Gaelic, Doulan appeared as Ó Dobhailen or "Dubhshláin," which combines the Gaelic elements "Dubh," meaning dark, with "shláin," meaning challenge or defiance. 1

Early Origins of the Doulan family

The surname Doulan was first found in Leinster, where they are believed to be descended from Eochaidh, King of Leinster, and became one of the "Seven septs of Leix."

However, the name is "fairly common to-day in Ulster - in the Catholic areas of Counties Cavan and Fermanagh - and in the Counties of Roscommon and Galway in Connacht. In the census of 1659 the name appears principally in Counties Roscommon and Fermanagh." 2

Early History of the Doulan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Doulan research. Another 39 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1834 and 1914 are included under the topic Early Doulan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Doulan Spelling Variations

Those scribes in Ireland during the Middle Ages recorded names as they sounded. Consequently, in this era many people were recorded under different spellings each time their name was written down. Research on the Doulan family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Dolan, Doland, Dooley, Dowling, Doolin, Doolan, O'Dooley, O'Dolan, O'Doolin, Dollan, Dolland, Dooland, Dowlling, Doolley and many more.

Early Notables of the Doulan family

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

Doulan 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:

Doulan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Catherine Doulan (Donlan), (b. 1848), aged 25, Irish servant from Limerick travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Surat" going to Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand in 1873, the ship sunk at the Catlins River all the passengers were transported to Dunedin via various rescure vessels 3
  1. MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0)
  2. MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
  3. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html

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