Carey Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Carey Family History

Carey Family History

The Carey ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Carey include Carr, O'Keary and Cary. Meaning 'dweller at the castle', this name is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout the above islands. Examples of such are a Roger de Cary, of Somerset, England, who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls' in the year 1273. In Ireland the Careys belonged to the Southern Ui Neill and were Lords of Carbury in County Kildare until dispersed by the Anglo-Norman invasion. The O'Kearys, which in Irish is O'Ciardha, always used the angilicized form Carey which was later corrupted to Carr in County Galway. The Careys are now mostly found in the Munster Counties of Cork and Kerry.The Carey family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Carey descendants.