O'Shields History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

This name was anglicized from Ó Siadhail in Gaelic, meaning an 'ancestor of Siadhail' (the prefix O denotes 'grandfather of'). Siadhail has been translated to mean 'sloth' or 'sluggishness'. As this name is descriptive of its original bearer, it is considered to be a nickname. However, many Irish of this name originally came from England or Scotland where the name Shields is derived from an Old English word meaning 'shed' or 'hut' - a somewhat more flattering meaning.

Early Origins of the O'Shields family

The surname O'Shields was first found in the Ulster region counties of Donegal, Derry, Antrim and Down. This family are reputed to be descendents of the great King Niall of the Nine Hostages.

Important Dates for the O'Shields family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Shields research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1548, 1545, 1677, 1745, 1693, 1698, 1800, 1879, 1886 and 1949 are included under the topic Early O'Shields History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Shields Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Shiel, Sheilles, Sheild, Sheill, Sheels, Sheils, Sheil, Shield, Shields, Shieles, Shiels, Shiells, Shielles, Shiell, Sheills, Sheilds and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Shields family (pre 1700)

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Luke O'Shiell (1677-1745), Irish Jacobite, born in Dublin who emigrated to Nantes, France after the Irish defeat, father of Mary O'Shiell, a French-Irish businessperson in Nantes and her sisters Agnés O'Shiell and Anne O'Shiell, founder of the family manor of the O'Shiell, Manoir de la Placelière, which became the gathering place of the large Irish colony in Nantes; Michael...
Another 68 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Shields Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the O'Shields family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Reverend Archibald Shields, who led the first Virginian settlement and also held estates in Jamaica; Thomas Shield, who settled in Virginia in 1638; Walter Shield, who settled there in 1650.