The family name Whelan is an anglicisation of the Irish surname

Ó Faoláin Ó Faoláin (), or O'Faolain, is an Irish surname coming from the Irish for "wolf", also anglicized as Phelan or Whelan. Notable people with this surname include: *Seán Ó Faoláin (1900–1991), influential figure in 20th-century Irish culture ...

. The surname originates from the Middle Irish (plural ''Uí Faeláin'') the name of the 10th to 11th century ruling dynasty of the Déisi, a population group inhabiting the area of the modern county of Waterford and

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

in the early medieval period. The word is derived from the Old Irish word ''faelán'' meaning a young (small) wolf; ''-án'' being of the diminutive suffix in Irish. ''Ó'' (anglicised as ''O''') derives from the Old Irish ''úa'', meaning "grandson", or more figuratively "patrilineal descendant". The patronym that follows is always in the genitive case, in accordance with Irish grammatical rules, and is normally marked by an "i" following the final vowel. Therefore, the name Faelán, becomes ''Úa Faeláin'' as a patronym in Middle Irish, from which is derived ''Ó Faoláin'' in Modern Irish, of which in turn ''Whelan'', '' Phelan'', ''O'Phelan'' etc. are anglicisations. According to the legendary history of Ireland, about 300 A.D., the Déisi settled on the site of

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...

. In the 12th and 13th centuries, during the early Anglo-Norman period, records of a political nature relating to the Déisi and the descendants of the Uí Faeláin dynastic group decline. The Faelán referred to is Faelán mac Cormac, who is recorded in the Annals of Inishfallen as having succeeded his father as king of the Déisi in 966. The first person referred to as ''úa Faeláin'' is his grandson Mothla mac Domnall, or Mothla úa Faeláin, who was king of the Déisi until his death at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, and whose head is recorded in the Annals of Ulster as having been interred with Brian Ború in Armagh. During this period however, Irish patronyms had not yet petrified into surnames proper. According to the Annals of the Four Masters:

The Age of Christ, 1170. M1170.11 Robert Fitz Stephen and Richard, son of Gilbert, i.e. Earl Strongbow, came from England into Ireland with a numerous force, and many knights and archers, in the army of Mac Murchadha ermot MacMurrough to contest Leinster for him, and to disturb the Irish of Ireland in general; and Mac Murchadha gave his daughter to the Earl Strongbow for coming into his army. They took Loch Garman
exford town; a stone walled Norse settlement Exford may refer to: * Exford, Victoria, a town in Australia * Exford, Somerset Exford is a rural village at the centre of Exmoor National Park, north-west of Dulverton, and south-west of Minehead, in Somerset, England. Less than a mile away ...
and entered Port-Lairge aterford town; a Norse settlementby force; and they took Gillemaire, the officer of the fortress, and Ua Faelain, lord of the Deisi, and his son, and they killed seven hundred persons there.

By the beginning of the thirteenth century, most of the territory of the Déisi was absorbed into the Anglo-Norman colony. The surname ''Whelan'' remains common in

and in the adjoining part of Co.

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, particularly in the barony of Iverk. The earliest anglicised forms of the Ó Faoláin name were

Felan Phelan is an Irish surname, one of the two most common anglicisations (the other being Whelan) of the Irish surname Ó Faoláin (which comes from the Irish for "wolf"). The name is commonly seen in the south-east of Ireland, particularly counties ...

, Faelan, Hyland, with many other similar variants, including Whelan and Phelan in Cos Waterford and Kilkenny. Whelan and Whalen are the most prevalent forms in modern times, and combined are placed seventy-ninth in the list of the hundred most common surnames in Ireland. With Phelan added, the name takes forty-fourth place. Another meaning for Whelan was originated from the earliest version of Irish, the meaning was "clan of the wolf".

Whelans

Aileen Whelan Aileen Mary Whelan (born 11 August 1991) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward for FA WSL club Leicester City. Whelan started her playing career in 1996 at Rugby Town Girls FC, after it was set up by Steve Heighton and M ...

– English footballer *

Anto Whelan Anthony Gerard Whelan (born 23 November 1959) is an Irish former soccer player who played during the 1970s and 1980s. He made his League of Ireland debut for Bohemians on 9 September 1979 and made 25 league appearances (4 goals) and two appea ...

– Irish footballer * Arleen Whelan – American actress * Bill Whelan – composer of '' Riverdance'' *

Brian Whelan Brian Whelan (born 3 May 1957) is an Irish painter, author and playwright. Early life Whelan was born in Ealing, West London, UK, of Irish Roman Catholic parents. His childhood was spent both in London and Ireland (Kilkenny Waterford and Dubl ...

– painter, author and filmmaker; paintings in public/private collections worldwide; 3 books published and one film in the UK National Gallery of Art *

Charles Wheelan Charles J. Wheelan (born 1966) is an American professor, journalist, speaker, and is the founder and co-chairman of Unite America. Wheelan is the author of ''Naked Statistics'', ''Naked Economics'', and ''Naked Money''. He was an unsuccessful ...

– American author * Charlie Whelan – served as a special advisor in Her Majesty's Treasury under Gordon Brown *

Chris Whelan Christopher David Whelan (born 8 May 1986 in Liverpool) is an English first-class cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium bowler, who has represented Middlesex and Worcestershire. He came through the ranks at Sefton Par ...

– Middlesex cricketer *

Christine Whelan Christine Barrett Whelan (born July 5, 1977) is a writer, journalist, and commentator. She is the author of two books about marriage, two self-help books for young-adults and Great Courses Audible Original lecture series on purpose. She is a clini ...

– American author, journalist and commentator *

Ciara Whelan Ciara Whelan is an Irish television presenter who is best known for fronting TV3's prime-time travel series ''The Holiday Show''. Background She grew up in Kilkenny, attending St. John of God Girl's Primary School and later moving to Dublin wh ...

- Irish television presenter * Ciarán Whelan – Irish Gaelic footballer * Dave Whelan – Former professional footballer with Blackburn Rovers and the current owner of Wigan Athletic *

David Whelan David Whelan (born 24 November 1936) is an English businessman and former footballer. During his football career, he played for Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra. Whelan is the former owner of club Wigan Athletic, having also been the chai ...

– English golf instructor and former golfer *

Dutee A. Whelan Dutee A. Whelan (March 25, 1879 – June 17, 1939) was an American farmer, businessman, and politician. Born in Mondovi, Buffalo County, Wisconsin, Whelan graduated from University of Wisconsin in 1900. Whelan was a farmer and was a cashier ...

, American politician * Edward Whelan – Canadian politician * Edward Whelan – A member of the O'Shea and Whelan family *

Elizabeth Whelan Elizabeth M. Whelan (; December 4, 1943 – September 11, 2014) was an American epidemiologist best known for promoting science that was favorable to industry and for challenging government regulations of consumer products, food, and pharmaceutic ...

– American author, epidemiologist, and consumer advocate *

Emily Whelan Emily Whelan (born 22 August 2002) is an Irish footballer who plays for Scottish Women's Premier League club Glasgow City F.C., Glasgow City and the Republic of Ireland women's national football team. She is a former Gaelic footballer. Career ...

– Irish footballer * Eugene Whelan – Canadian politician * Fern Whelan – English footballer * Gary Whelan – actor (played Brendan Kearney in Ballykissangel amongst other things) *

Gavan Whelan James are an English rock band from Manchester, who were formed in 1982. They had popularity throughout the 1990s, with four top 10s on the UK Singles Chart and nine top 10s on the UK Albums Chart. The band's best-known singles include " Come ...

– drummer for the band James * Gemma Whelan – English actress and comedian *

George J. Whelan George J. Whelan (birth and death dates unknown) served as the 7th Mayor of San Francisco in from July 8 to November 15, 1856. He had been a lawyer and before serving as mayor. He actually was chosen mayor by justices of the peace who were act ...

– former mayor of San Francisco * Glenn Whelan – Republic of Ireland international footballer *

Gloria Whelan Gloria Whelan (born November 23, 1923) is an American poet, short story writer, and novelist known primarily for children's and young adult fiction. She won the annual National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2000 for the novel '' Hom ...

– American author, winner of the National Book Award for Children's Literature (2000) *

Hannah Whelan Hannah Kate Whelan (born 1 July 1992) is a retired British artistic gymnast who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics. Whelan won three European Championships medals and four British senior national titles, and was th ...

– British gymnast, competed at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics *

Heather Whelan Heather Elizabeth Whelan (born 8 October 1977) is an Irish former cricketer who played as a right-arm medium-fast bowler. She appeared in 39 One Day Internationals and 4 Twenty20 Internationals for Ireland between 1997 and 2010, and captained th ...

- Irish cricketer *

James R. Whelan James R. Whelan (July 27, 1933 – December 1, 2012) was a journalist and historian who served as the first editor in chief of ''The Washington Times'', holding the position from 1982 to 1984. He is also known as the author of several books, most o ...

- journalist and educator * Jill Whelan – American actress * Jim Whelan (1948–2017) - American politician *

John W. Whelan John W. Whelan (November 1, 1845 – June 3, 1906) was an American politician, lawyer, and farmer. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and Wisconsin State Senate. Born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Whelan graduated from University ...

- American politician * Jordan Whelan – American musician * Julia Whelan – American actress * Leo Whelan (1892–1956) - Irish painter * Liam Whelan – former

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

footballer who died in the Munich Air Disaster. Also known as Billy Whelan * Máire Whelan – Attorney General of Ireland * Marcus Whelan – Australian Rules footballer * Marty Whelan- Irish radio personality *

Matthew Whelan Matthew Whelan (born 13 November 1979) is a former professional Australian rules football player. Wearing the number 45 jersey, Whelan, recruited from the Northern Territory was reliable defender/ back pocket known by Demons fans as "Wheels" ...

– Indigenous Australian Rules footballer * Michael Whelan – American artist *

Nicky Whelan Nicky Whelan (born 10 May 1981) is an Australian actress and model known for her role as Pepper Steiger in the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours''. Career Before ''Neighbours'', Whelan hosted a number of shows, including '' Coxy's Big Brea ...

– Australian actress from Neighbours *

Noel Whelan Noel David Whelan (; born 30 December 1974) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and radio co-commentator. As a player, he was a striker who notably played in the Premier League for Leeds United, Coventry City, and Mid ...

– Former Premiership footballer * Nuala O'Faolain – Irish journalist *

Patrick J. Whelan Patrick James Whelan (c. 1840 – 11 February 1869) was a suspected Fenian supporter executed following the 1868 assassination of Irish journalist and politician Thomas D'Arcy McGee. He maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, but ...

– Visionary pioneer of financial electronic platforms *

– tailor who was hanged for assassinating

D'Arcy McGee Thomas D'Arcy McGee (13 April 18257 April 1868) was an Irish-Canadian politician, Catholic spokesman, journalist, poet, and a Father of Canadian Confederation. The young McGee was an Irish Catholic who opposed British rule in Ireland, and was ...

* Patrick Whelan - Irish volunteer killed in the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

of 1916 * Paul Whelan (politician) (1943–2019), New South Wales state politician *

Paul F. Whelan Paul F. Whelan is Professor of Computer Vision at the Centre for Image Processing & Analysis, School of Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Computing Dublin City University. Education and career Whelan earned his Bachelor of Eng ...

, Irish academic * Paul Whelan (security director), US citizen and corporate security director arrested in Russia in late 2018 on accusations of being a spy * Peter Whelan - academic lawyer * Ronnie Whelan – played for Liverpool Football Club and is the son of

Ronnie Whelan, Sr. Ronnie Whelan Sr. (17 November 1936 – 16 July 1993) was a Republic of Ireland international footballer, who played for several clubs, most notably St. Patrick's Athletic. He is the father of Ronnie Whelan Jr. Another son, Paul, and a grand ...

who was also a footballer * Seán Ó Faoláin – born John Francis Whelan, writer * Thomas Whelan – Irish IRA Volunteer, one of The Forgotten Ten * Thomas J. Whelan – Irish-American mayor * Thomas J. Whelan – American judge * Tom Whelan – American football player * Tommy Whelan – American football player *

Tony Whelan Anthony M. Whelan (; born 20 November 1952) is an English former professional footballer who works as assistant academy director of Manchester United. He is responsible for the Under-9 to Under-16 player development programme. Playing career E ...

– former

footballer *

Wendy Whelan Wendy Whelan (; born May 7, 1967) is an American ballet dancer. She was principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and performed with the company for 30 years, and toured in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Whelan has also been an influential gue ...

– American ballet dancer and associate artistic director of New York City Ballet * Donan Whelan- Actor and restaurant manager

Characters

Abby Whelan Abigail Whelan is a fictional character portrayed by Darby Stanchfield, created by Shonda Rhimes for the political drama television series '' Scandal''. Whelan is Jewish, worked in the Washington, D.C.-based crisis management-firm, Pope & As ...

- fictional character on Scandal

References

* * * * Annals of the Four Masters * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan Surnames Irish families Surnames of Irish origin English-language surnames Anglicised Irish-language surnames

Whelans

Characters

See also

References