O'Collins is a common anglicized
surname
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
of two ancient families of
Irish origin: O'Cuilleain and O'Coilean.
Origin of O'Cuilleain
O'Cuilleain or Cuilliaéan is an extremely ancient Irish name from
Gaelic ''cuileann'' and primitive Gaelic '' cuilieann '' meaning
Holly
''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
. In pre-Christian Celtic culture and history, the Holly Tree was regarded as sacred on account of its alleged mystic and herbal properties.
As testimony to the ancient age of this family, the origin of the word holly comes from the 11th Century Old High German '' hulis'' and
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
'' holegn'' both meaning Holly. The word ''hulis'' originates from an even older pre-Christian proto-Germanic word '' khuli'' a shortened derivation of the ancient Gaelic ''cuilieann'' both meaning holly.
The English word “holly” itself pre-dates the word ''holy'' which appeared around the 13th Century with the
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
word ''hālig'' derived from ''hāl'' meaning ''health, happiness and wholeness.''
It is possible the word
Celt
The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
is also derived from Holly as a description of these, the earliest leaders of Ireland. The first literary reference to the Celtic people, as ''keltoi'' is by the Greek historian Hecataeus in 517 BC. He locates the Keltoi tribe in Rhenania (West/Southwest Germany). The similar proto-Germanic word 'Khuli was in use at the time in the area through the proto-Germanic language, a shortened derivation of the ancient Gaelic cuilieann both meaning Holly.
Also sometimes written as Cualann, Cuilonn, Cullen, Culaan, Cuilinn and Cuillin, the O'Cuilleain originate from the Wicklow Hills (in Gaelic “Cill Mhantáin”) and were originally known as the ''Feara Cualann'' which probably more accurately translates as the Holly Men, than the Wicklow Men.
While the exact evidence of their migration south to West Cork is not clear, the event precedes the arrival of the O'Coilean (O'Collins) to the same area in the 12th Century by a significant period of centuries.
Origin of O'Coilean
Ó Coileáin is an ancient Irish name from Gaelic ''coileain'' meaning "young warrior" or “hound”. In ancient Irish history, this family had a famous and fearless reputation for their skill at battle and are the original source of the name Collins, now so common throughout England and the world.
Due to pressures of defeat against the Anglo-Norman invaders, O'Coilean were gradually driven south from
County Limerick to settle in the same approximate area as the O'Cuilleain in West Cork and Cork around the end of the 12th Century. As a result, the two families have been virtually impossible to geographically distinguish for the past eight hundred years.
The
O'Donovans, also originally from Co. Limerick, and from the same ancient kingdom, known as
Uí Fidgenti, made the journey to Co. Cork under similar circumstances, and so are closely related to these O'Collins.
People
*
Con Collins
*
Michael Collins (Irish leader)
See also
*
Mountcollins
*
Collins (surname)
References
Burke's Peerage and Gentry, publishers of ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocollins
Surnames
Irish families