Dowling Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Dowling Family History

Dowling Family History

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

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. 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 Dowling include O'Dowling, Doolan and Doolin. O'Dunlaing is the Gaelic sept from which this name is taken. The Dowlings were one of the septs of Leix, the leading numbers of which were transplanted to the borders of North Kerry and West Limerick in 1609. From there they spread to Counties Carlow, Kilkenny and Wicklow, where there are no less than four townlands called Ballydowling. It is in modern times in these Counties where the name is most numerous. Famous bearers of the name include Bartholomew Dowling, 1823-1863, author of 'The Brigade of Fontenoy', and his brother William, who was a poet more closely identified with America rather than with his own country. The Dowling 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 Dowling descendants.