Scully Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Scully Family History

Scully Family History

The ancient origin of the name Scully 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 Scully include Scullion, Scullin and Scallan. Though originally of County Westmeath, as early as the twelfth century the O'Scolaidhe sept, from which these names are derived, were driven by Anglo-Norman pressure to County Tipperary and may be regarded as belonging to Munster. Birth statistics place them chiefly in County Cork in modern times. A branch of the family retained its lands in County Dublin up to the year 1256 when the property of William O'Scully passed into ecclesiastical possession. On leaving Delvin in County Westmeath, one branch settled at Lorrha in North Tipperary where they became erenaghs of the Church of St. Ruan. Another branch of the same sept settled near Cashel in South Tipperary in the seventeenth century. Scully's Cross, unlike many family memorials, may be said to add to the beauty of the Scullys legacy. The Scully 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 Scully descendants.