Coleman History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

While the Anglicized versions of Irish names are familiar to most people, many Irish names have a long and proud Gaelic heritage that is often unknown. The Coleman surname stems from two distinct Gaelic names O’Clúmháin, derived from the Irish root “clúmh,” meaning “down,” or “feathers,” and from O Colmain, derived the Latin word “columba,” which means “dove.” [1]

Early Origins of the Coleman family

The surname Coleman was first found in County Sligo (Irish: Sligeach), in the province of Connacht in Northwestern Ireland, where they were a sept of O’Colmain, a branch of Hy Fiachrach. [2]

Early History of the Coleman family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coleman research. Another 178 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 117 and 1172 are included under the topic Early Coleman History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coleman Spelling Variations

The spelling of names in Ireland during the Middle Ages was rarely consistent. This inconsistency was due to the scribes and church officials’ attempts to record orally defined names in writing. The common practice of recording names as they sounded resulted in spelling variations such as Colman, Coleman, O’Colman, MacColeman, McColeman, Coalman, Coulman, Colemen, Colmen, Coalmen, Colmin, Colmen, Coulmen, Coulmin, Colemin and many more.

Early Notables of the Coleman family (pre 1700)

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

Coleman World Ranking

In the United States, the name Coleman is the 82^nd most popular surname with an estimated 236,265 people with that name. [3] However, in Canada, the name Coleman is ranked the 712^ndmost popular surname with an estimated 7,480 people with that name. [4] And in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Coleman is the 598^th popular surname with an estimated 77 people with that name. [5] Australia ranks Coleman as 189^th with 16,820 people. [6] New Zealand ranks Coleman as 209^th with 2,696 people. [7] The United Kingdom ranks Coleman as 219^th with 26,288 people. [8]

 Coleman migration to the United States +

Many destitute Irish families in the 18th and 19th centuries decided to leave their homeland, which had in many ways been scarred by English colonial rule. One of the most frequent destinations for these families was North America where it was possible for an Irish family to own their own parcel of land. Many of the early settlers did find land awaiting them in British North America, or even later in America, but for the majority of immigrants that arrived as a result of the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s the ownership of land was often a long way off. These Irish people were initially put to work on such industrial projects as the building of bridges, canals, and railroads, or they worked at manufacturing positions within factories. Whenever they arrived, the Irish made enormous contributions to the infant nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the earliest immigrants to bearer the name of Coleman were found through extensive research of immigration and passenger lists.