Gaelic sept

Nolan

Ó Nualláin

Also: O'Nolan, Knowlan

“descendant of Nuallán, 'famous, noble'”

🏔 Carlow · Ceatharlach 🏔 Wexford · Loch Garman

The sept's historic heartland, highlighted. People moved — a name can be found far from home.

The story

Princes of Foharta, Carlow's ancient people, with the hereditary right to knight the king of Leinster. Brian O'Nolan wrote as Flann O'Brien, twentieth-century Ireland's funniest pen.

Their world Around 1350 — The Gaelic Resurgence. Plague, absentee landlords and Gaelic recovery shrink English Ireland to a fortified strip around Dublin.

See them on the atlas ↗

What the name is made of

Ó Nualláin
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
Nualláin — the ancestor, trade or place the name is built on

Find this form in the Irish-to-English index → · What Ó and Mac actually mean

Is Nolan an Irish name?

Nolan is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here.

The five answers, and why it is rarely yes or no →

From Wikipedia — “Nolan (surname)”

Nolan is a surname, of Irish origin from Ó Nualláin, derived from Irish nuall meaning "famous or noble" combined with a diminutive suffix. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Nolans in Ireland were one of the chiefly families of the Loígis tribe who in turn came from the Cruthin tribe who were the first Celts to settle in Ireland from between 800 and 500 BC.

Read the full article ↗ · Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Kavanagh · Carlow, Wexford Kinsella · Wexford, Carlow Brophy · Carlow Cody · Wexford Connery · Wexford Cullen · Wexford Darcy · Wexford Devereux · Wexford Doran · Wexford Doyle · Wexford Esmonde · Wexford French · Wexford Furlong · Wexford Hore · Wexford

Quick answers

Is Nolan an Irish name?

Nolan is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here. In Irish the name is Ó Nualláin.

What does the surname Nolan mean?

Nolan (Irish: Ó Nualláin) means “descendant of Nuallán, 'famous, noble'”. Origin: Gaelic sept.

Where in Ireland is the surname Nolan from?

The historic homeland of the Nolan name is Carlow, Wexford. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for Nolan?

Ó Nualláin. Related spellings: O'Nolan, Knowlan.

Looking for the Nolan family crest? Read this first — arms belong to people, not surnames, and the honest version is more interesting. Tracing Nolan ancestors? The step-by-step guide.

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