Nolan - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Nualláin
Meaning: “noble, famous”
Traditional stronghold: Carlow
Pronunciation: NOH-lun; Irish O Nuallain: oh NOO-uh-lawn
History of the Nolan name
O Nuallain, 'descendant of Nuallan' (a name suggesting 'famous' or 'noble'), was the surname of a sept based in the Leinster territory of Fotharta, around present-day County Carlow, where they served as chiefs until displaced by Anglo-Norman settlement. A separate, smaller sept existed in County Clare. The Carlow Nolans retained local prominence for a time before the wider disruptions of the medieval and early modern periods. The O prefix was generally dropped by the 18th and 19th centuries, leaving the simple form Nolan, which became one of the more common surnames of the southeast. Emigration spread the name widely, and it remains especially frequent in Carlow, Wexford and Dublin.
Variants: O'Nolan · Noland
Famous bearers of the name
- Brian O'Nolan (Flann O'Brien) - novelist and satirist, author of At Swim-Two-Birds
- Christopher Nolan - British-Irish-descended film director
- Louise Nolan - member of the Irish pop group The Nolans
- Sidney Nolan - Australian painter of Irish descent, known for his Ned Kelly series
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Kavanagh · Whelan · Dowling · Hayden · Bagenal · Bolger