Cullen
Ó Cuilinn · descendant of Cuileann
Cullen is Ó Cuilinn in Irish, said oh KIL-in, and means descendant of Cuileann.
Cuileann is the holly tree. Cullenswood in Dublin and Glencullen in Wicklow carry the same word, which is why the name is thickest where the holly grew.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Cuilinn
- His daughter: Ní Chuilinn
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Chuilinn
- The family together: Uí Chuilinn
Where it comes from
Wexford, Wicklow and Kildare
Also spelt
Cullen, Culleen, Cullin
A name, not a pedigree
This is where the name came from, which is not the same as where you came from. Names were translated, anglicised, taken on by tenants and neighbours, and carried in by settlers who were no relation to the family that started them. To follow your own line, the 1901 and 1911 censuses are free and searchable, and give the county each person was born in.