Show ContentsTooly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Throughout history, very few Irish surnames have exclusively maintained their original forms. Before being translated into English, Tooly appeared as Ó Tuathail, which is derived from "tuathal," which means "people mighty."

Early Origins of the Tooly family

The surname Tooly was first found in County Kildare (Irish:Cill Dara), ancient homeland of the Kildare based Uí Dúnlainge (Kings of Leinster), located in the Province of Leinster, seated at O'Toole's Castle, where they were descended from Tuathal, King of Leinster who died in 950 A.D.

Early History of the Tooly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tooly research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1128, 1180, 1225, 1327, 1590, 1670 and 1722 are included under the topic Early Tooly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tooly Spelling Variations

Within the archives researched, many different spelling variations of the surname Tooly were found. These included One reason for the many variations is that scribes and church officials often spelled an individual's name as it sounded. This imprecise method often led to many versions. Toole, Tool, O'Toole, O'Tool, Tooley, Toile and many more.

Early Notables of the Tooly family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was St. Laurence O'Toole; Lorcán Ua Tuathail, also known as St Laurence O'Toole, (1128-1180), Archbishop of Dublin, canonized in 1225 by Pope Honorius III; and Adam Dubh Ó Tuathail, died 1327...
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Tooly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Tooly migration to the United States +

During the 19th century thousands of impoverished Irish families made the long journey to British North America and the United States. These people were leaving a land that had become beset with poverty, lack of opportunity, and hunger. In North America, they hoped to find land, work, and political and religious freedoms. Although the majority of the immigrants that survived the long sea passage did make these discoveries, it was not without much perseverance and hard work: by the mid-19th century land suitable for agriculture was short supply, especially in British North America, in the east; the work available was generally low paying and physically taxing construction or factory work; and the English stereotypes concerning the Irish, although less frequent and vehement, were, nevertheless, present in the land of freedom, liberty, and equality for all men. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Research into passenger and immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the Tooly family in North America:

Tooly Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Nathan Tooly, aged 19, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Thomas" 1
  • Thomas Tooly, who arrived in Virginia in 1654 1


  1. 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)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook