The Culliton Family History

Collected by
James Parnell Culliton

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Origin of the Name

I have used two sources for the name origin. Both correlate closely. SHORT VERSION. This is taken from an Irish web site.

(Mac) CULLETON, Colletan Colletan

is the usual modern spelling of the anglicized form of Mac Codlatáin. Colleton, Culliton and even Cullington are recorded by district registrars as synonyms of it. A hundred years ago when compulsory registration of births was introduced there were 23 registrations, 17 as Culleton, mainly in Co. Wexford, Colleton is the spelling in Counties Kilkenny and Carlow. The surname as Colletan, Coltane etc. has been associated with south-east Leinster (counties Kilkenny, Carlow and Wexford) for many centuries: it often occurred in records dealing with that part of the country since 1500. In the sixteenth century it was most often given as MacColletan in English, though in the Ormond Deeds it usually appears without the prefix. Many of the numerous entries relating to MacColletans found in the Tudor Fiants are of special interest being miniature descriptions in themselves e.g. (Fiant 223 1, AD 1573) pardon inter alios to Edmund duff Macgilpatrick MacCollytan; (4036, A.D. 1582) Donell and Donagh duff 0 Cofletan mac Teige. As a rule their place of abode (always either in Co. Kilkenny, Carlow or Wexford) is given, together with their status or occupation yeoman, husbandman, kern etc. The name does not occur in later records such as the "census" of 1659 In 1608 Piers and Edmund Collatan are mentioned with four others of Gaelic-Irish stock, as the chief gentlemen of the barony of St. Mullins, Co. Carlow in an official report on the leading men of certain Leinster counties. There is a Culleton family burial place in the parish of Carrick-on-Bannow, Co. Wexford. The towland of Ballyclliton in north Tipperary is said to be named from a family of Colliton.

The second longer version is from Violet Mary Culliton Doolittle now of Prince George, BC who got it from her cousin Lucy Culliton McTague and Violet Culliton Lordon then of Detroit in about 1965. Both families are descended from David Culliton 1819-1888 born Co Wexford and Harriet Gibbons 1821-1911who emigrated to Toronto ( Stratford) Ontario by about 1844. The document was typed about 1955. I have "edited" the document to clean up typos and obvious errors. In several cases, I haven't a clue as to correct content and have left it as I received it. Source and accuracy are unknown.

History of the Surname Culliton

In Gaelic Mac Codlatain -sleeper- an old family from Co. Carlow Every surname which was originally a "Mac" or "0" is a thousand years old, for it was In 950 AD that these names began to become general (the name r,feClery (Clery, "lark, etc)dates back to 950 AD and is the oldest name in Europe. Practically all Irish surnames had been fixed before this practice began to become common in England, France, Germany and Spain, so that Gaelic surnames are the oldest in Europe.

The old Irish families of Norman origin received their surnames from 1100 AD onwards... and these families are now, of course, completely absorbed within the Irish nation.

The original form of your name will be found to be totally different from it's present form. In the case of Gaelic names this was because a new language w"s forced on the people, and so all the sounds and. spellings changed. It was in 1xxx and onwards that Gaelic names' first began to be Anglicized so from that year had the Gaelic form for over 500 years and the new form for some 1000 years.

Forms of your own name found in Irish parish registers are as follows: MacCodIatain, MacCollotane, MacCollitan, Colleton, Collotan, Culleton, Cullington and Culliton.