Show ContentsTulley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Irish surname Tulley begins was originally the Gaelic MacTuile, Ó Maoltuile, or Mac Maoltuile. "tuile" means "flood," and the names Tully and Flood were at one time interchangeable in Ireland. 1

However, some of the Gaelic names that have become "flood" may have been mistranslations, and that contained the Gaelic "toile," meaning "toil," or "will." In Ulster, Floyd has sometimes been used as a spelling variant of Flood; however, Floyd is normally a cognate of the Welsh name Lloyd, derived from the word 'llwyd,' which means ‘grey.’

Early Origins of the Tulley family

The surname Tulley was first found in Connacht, where they could be found since ancient times, and were hereditary physicians to the O'Connors of Galway.

Early History of the Tulley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tulley research. Another 125 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1563, 1572, 1574, 1589, 1592, 1593, 1603, 1620, 1637, 1641, 1648, 1649, 1660, 1675 and 1676 are included under the topic Early Tulley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tulley Spelling Variations

Irish names were rarely spelled consistently in the Middle Ages. Spelling variations of the name Tulley dating from that time include Flood, Floyd, Floode, Floyde, Tully, MacTully,Talley, Tally and many more.

Early Notables of the Tulley family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Thomas Tully (1620-1676), an English clergyman of Calvinist views. He was born in St. Mary's parish, Carlisle and was son of George Tully. "After the Restoration he was created D.D. on 9 Nov. 1660, and nominated one of the Royal Chaplains in Ordinary, and in April 1675 was appointed Dean of Ripon. " 2Edward Floyd, Floud or LLoyd (d. 1648?), was a Catholic barrister who became steward in Shropshire to Lord-Chancellor Ellesmere and the Earl of Suffolk. 2Henry Floyd (1563-1641), was an English Jesuit, elder brother of Father John Floyd, born in...
Another 120 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Tulley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tulley Ranking

In the United States, the name Tulley is the 15,633rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3


United States Tulley migration to the United States +

A massive amount of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century for North America and Australia in hopes of finding more opportunities and an escape from discrimination and oppression. A great portion of these migrants arrived on the eastern shores of the North American continent. Although they were generally poor and destitute, and, therefore, again discriminated against, these Irish people were heartily welcomed for the hard labor involved in the construction of railroads, canals, roadways, and buildings. Many others were put to work in the newly established factories or agricultural projects that were so essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s initiated the largest wave of Iris immigration. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name Tulley or a variant listed above:

Tulley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Tulley, who arrived in Virginia in 1640 4

Australia Tulley migration to Australia +

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

Tulley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. James Tulley, Canadian covict who was convicted in Kingston, Ontario, Canada for life, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 16th January 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
  • Thomas Tulley, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Stebonheath" in 1849 6

New Zealand Tulley 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:

Tulley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • John Tulley, who landed in Wairarapa, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship Brougham

Contemporary Notables of the name Tulley (post 1700) +

  • Gever Tulley, American writer, speaker, computer scientist and founder of the Brightworks School and Tinkering School
  • Edwin Tulley Newton (1840-1930), British paleontologist
  • Freeman Tulley Knowles (1846-1910), American politician, Representative from South Dakota at-large, 1897-99 7


The Tulley Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Vis unita fortior
Motto Translation: Strength united is the more powerful.


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
  2. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. 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)
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
  6. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) STEBONHEATH 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Stebonheath.htm
  7. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 6) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook