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QUINLAN Family History

This interesting surname is Irish. It is a developed form of the ancient Gaelic surname O' Caoindealbhain. The translation is the male descendant of Caoindealbhan, a personal name meaning the son of the comely one (!) and composed of the elements caoin-dealbh and the diminutive suffix -an, meaning little or more likely 'son of'. It can also be a form of the surname O'Conaillain, meaning descendant of Conaillan, a personal name representing a diminutive of Conall, composed of the elements con (from cu meaning hound) plus gal meaning valour. Recordings of the surname are tracebale to the mid 16th century (see below), whilst variations in the idiom of the spelling include Quinlan, Quinlen, Quinelen, Quinlan, and others...