Nolan
Ó Nualláin · descendant of Nuallán
Nolan is Ó Nualláin in Irish, said oh NOO-lawn, and means descendant of Nuallán.
Nuall means a shout or a cry, so Nuallán is read as little shouter, or as noble if you take the other derivation. The family were hereditary inaugurators of the kings of Leinster.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Nualláin
- His daughter: Ní Nualláin
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Nualláin
- The family together: Uí Nualláin
Where it comes from
Carlow
Also spelt
Nolan, O’Nolan, Noland, Nowlan
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.