Callan Name Study

Date: 1 Feb 2024 [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surnames/tags: Callan Callen Callin

About the Project

The CALLAN Name Study project serves as a collaborative platform to collect information on the Callan, Callen, and Callin names. The hope is that other researchers like you will join the study to help make it a valuable reference point for other genealogists who are researching or have an interest in the CALLAN name and its variants.

As a One Name Study, this project is not limited to persons who are related biologically. Individual team studies can be used to branch out the research into specific methods and areas of interest, such as geographically (England CALLAN's), by period (18th Century CALLEN's), or by topic (CALLIN DNA, CALLEN Occupations, CALLAN Statistics). These studies may also include a number of family branches which have no immediate link with each other. Some researchers may even be motivated to go beyond the profile identification and research stage to compile fully sourced, single-family histories of some of the families they discover through this name study project.

Also see the related surnames and surname variants.

The main goal of this project will be to collect data for people who bear a version of the surname, globally, and determine whether they can be connected through modern DNA techniques or documentary evidence.

How to Join

To join the Callan Name Study, first start out by browsing our current research pages to see if there is a specific study ongoing that fits your interests. If so, feel free to add your name to the Membership list below, post an introduction comment on the specific team page, and then dive right in!

If a research page does not yet exist for your particular area of interest, please contact the Name Study Coordinator: Tad Callin for assistance.

Once you are ready to go, you can also show your project affiliation with the ONS Member Sticker:

Research Pages

Here are some of the current research pages included in the study. I'll be working on them, and could use your help! These pages can consist of:

• Sources - free space pages for published family histories specific to Callan families
• Individuals - for identifying the earliest Callan ancestors of different family groups
• Places - these are either places named for Callan folks or One Place Studies that intersect with Callan families

Published Sources

These are WikiTree free space pages for sources specific to surname.

• The Callen Chronicles
• The Callin Family History - information about both the 1911 Callin Family History published by George W. Callin and the 2022 updated version published by Tad Callin.

Individuals

These are "wave-top" profiles for families that will fall under this study. Please add your earliest Callan/Callen/Callin ancestor's profile here.

• James Callin (abt.1750-abt.1816) - earliest ancestor in the The Callin Family History
• Patrick Hugh Callen (1745-1823) - one of the early ancestors documented in The Callen Chronicles
• John Callen (abt.1781-) - possible father of three Callen men who lived in or near Covington, Campbell County, Kentucky.
• Jonathan Callin (abt.1800-abt.1881) (b. abt. 1800, Kentucky) - founder of Callensville, Pendleton County, Kentucky.

Categories:

• Callin Surname in the Callin Family History

Places

These are places named for Callan/Callen/Callin founders or residents. These would be good candidates for separate research teams or for starting a One Place Study.

• Callensburg, Pennsylvania
• Callensville, Pendleton County, Kentucky (near modern Morgan; see A Reach Into the Past "Callensville")

Projects outside WikiTree

• FTDNA: Callan-Callen Family Finder
• Facebook: I'm a Callan

Membership

New group - contact the coordinator to join!

• Coordinator: Tad Callin
• or add your name here!

Teams

As the study grows, teams that focus on different areas will be listed here.

Related Surnames and Surname Variants

Based on the sources cited below, "Callan" appears to be the older form of the name and that appears most often, according to the number of WikiTree profiles for each surname. Determining which spelling is "correct" can be challenging - one Hugh Callin (abt.1803-abt.1846) was named as either "Coland, Calin, Callan, or Calm" in one source, and his two census appearances in 1830 and 1840 record him as "Hugh Callon" and "Hugh Callen", respectively.

Similar names:

• Callahan Name Study
• Collins Name Study
• Cullen
• Calland

Origins of the Names

According to the 1892 Irish Pedigrees genealogy published by John O'Hart, Callan was the anglicised form of the Gaelic Ó Cathaláin, which he said was also anglicised as Cahalan, Carlton, Carleton, and Charleton. "Cathalan" was derived from the Irish word "cathal," meaning "valor".

A later work, Patrick Woulfe's Irish Names and Surnames includes Callan in two lists of derivations (links will take you to the current list of WikiTree profiles for that name):

• from "O'Catalain":
  • Cahallane
  • Cahillane
  • Cahalane
  • Cohalane
  • Cohalan
  • Callan
  • Culhane
  • Clahane
  • Clehane
• from "O'Catlain":
  • Culhane
  • Callan
  • Callen
  • Callin
  • Cawlin
  • Clahane
  • Clehane

Heraldry

While it is unlikely that anyone bearing a modern variation of the name Callan is entitled to "bear arms" or claim any titles of nobility, an official description of the O'Callan, or O'Cuillean, family coat of arms and crest appears in The general armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales:

"Or, on a bend gu. three martlets ar. Crest -- A demi griffin ramp. gu."

According to the glossary found on the Burke's Peerage website, that official description translates to "A gold ("or") shield with a red "bend" - a division of the shield formed by two diagonal lines from the top left ("dexter chief") to the bottom right ("sinister base"). Three silver ("ar." for "argent") martlets are arranged inside the bend." The crest was a device that was borne on top of a helmet. This crest is described as the top half ("demi") of a red ("gu." for "gules") griffin - a monster with the upper half an eagle and the lower half a lion.

Sources and Resources

• The Callan Project: genealogy, history and DNA studies
• Burke, Bernard, Sir, (1814-1892), The general armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; comprising a registry of armorial bearings from the earliest to the present time, London : Harrison & sons, 1884; digitized version at <https://archive.org/details/generalarmoryofe00burk/>.
• O'Hart, John, (1824-1902), Irish pedigrees; or, The origin and stem of the Irish nation, Dublin, J. Duffy and Co.; New York, Benziger Brothers, 1892; digitized version at <https://archive.org/details/irishpedigreesor_01ohar/>.
• Woulfe, Patrick, Irish Names and Surnames, Dublin: M.H. Gill, 1922; digitized version at <https://archive.org/details/irishnamessurnam00woul/>.