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Irish surname

Curtin: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Mac Airteáin, Mac Cairteáin, Ó Cartáin, Mac Cruitín, Mac Curtáin, Ó Curtáin · Several separate Irish names are anglicised Curtin; Woulfe gives 'son of Artán', 'son of Cruitín' (hunch-backed) and 'descendant of Cartán' (if not, as he thinks probable, a corruption of Mac Artáin)

Woulfe (1923) prints Curtin under several separate Irish names: Mac Airteáin ('son of Artán'), Mac Cairteáin, Mac Curtáin, Ó Cartáin, Ó Curtáin and Mac Cruitín ('son of Cruitín', hunch-backed). They belonged to different places, including Cork, Thomond and West Limerick. In 1890 Ireland's birth indexes held 69 Curtin entries including spelling varieties (68 spelled Curtin), 68 of them in Munster.

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Coat of arms associated with the Curtin surname
Irish formMac Airteáin, Mac Cairteáin, Ó Cartáin, Mac Cruitín, Mac Curtáin, Ó Curtáin
MeaningSeveral separate Irish names are anglicised Curtin; Woulfe gives 'son of Artán', 'son of Cruitín' (hunch-backed) and 'descendant of Cartán' (if not, as he thinks probable, a corruption of Mac Artáin)
CountiesCork, Clare, Limerick, Kerry
Other spellings5

Origin of the Curtin name

Woulfe prints Curtin under separate names, kept apart here: Mac Airteáin, 'peculiar to Co. Cork'; Mac Cairteáin, a branch of MacCartan of Co. Down settled in Co. Cork; Ó Cartáin, in West Limerick and at Castleisland, Co. Kerry; and Mac Cruitín, a learned family of Thomond.[1][2][3][4][10][11]

  1. Before the end of the 16th centuryWoulfe: the Mac Cairteáin family had settled in Co. Cork.[2]
  2. 1376Four Masters: Kellach Mac Curtin, chief Historian of Thomond, died.[7]
  3. 1404Four Masters: Gilla-Duivin Mac Curtin, Ollav of Thomond in music, died.[8]
  4. 1434Four Masters: Sencha Mac Curtin, Ollav of Thomond in history, died.[9]
  5. 1737Woulfe: Father Connor Mac Cairteain (anglicised Curtin), P.P. of Glanmire and an Irish poet, died.[2]
  6. 189069 birth entries including spelling varieties (68 spelled Curtin); 68 in Munster.[5]

Where in Ireland

Co. CorkWoulfe: Mac Airteáin is 'peculiar to Co. Cork'; Mac Cairteáin had settled in Co. Cork before the end of the 16th century.[1][2]
Co. ClareWoulfe: the Mac Cruitín family's patrimony was Carrowduff and Laghvally, Co. Clare.[4]
Co. LimerickWoulfe: Ó Cartáin is anglicised Curtin in West Limerick, where it is 'now very common'.[3]
Co. KerryWoulfe: Ó Cartáin appears at Castleisland, Co. Kerry, pronounced Ó Curtáin.[3]

Notable people named Curtin

Father Connor Mac Cairteain (Curtin)d. 1737Woulfe: parish priest of Glanmire and 'an Irish poet of no mean order'.[2]
Andrew MacCurtinearly 18th centuryWoulfe: of the Thomond Mac Cruitín family; 'one of the best Irish scholars of his time'.[4]

Other spellings

Curtain · Curtayne · Courtayne · Curtan · Curten[1]

The Curtin coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the Curtin surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.

Curtin crest gifts

Clan Curtin Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest St Patrick's Day Classic CapSW42 Classic Cap - Curtin Coat Of Arms St Patrick's Day Classic Cap Irish Cap Curtin Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest St Patrick's Day Classic Cap£33.00

Curtin surname: questions

What does the surname Curtin mean?

It has more than one origin. Woulfe gives 'son of Artán' (Mac Airteáin), 'son of Cruitín', hunch-backed (Mac Cruitín), and 'descendant of Cartán' (Ó Cartáin), which he thinks is probably a corruption of Mac Artáin.[1][3][4]

Where in Ireland is Curtin from?

Woulfe places Mac Airteáin in Co. Cork, Ó Cartáin in West Limerick and at Castleisland in Co. Kerry, and the Mac Cruitín family in Thomond, with its patrimony at Carrowduff and Laghvally, Co. Clare. In 1890 Ireland's birth indexes held 69 Curtin entries including spelling varieties (68 spelled Curtin), 68 of them in Munster.[1][3][4][5]

Who were the Mac Curtins of Thomond?

Woulfe calls them a learned family of antiquaries in Thomond. The Annals of the Four Masters name a Mac Curtin as chief Historian of Thomond in 1376 and others as Ollav of Thomond in 1404 and 1434.[4][7][8][9]

Is Curtin the same name as Curtis?

Woulfe prints (Curtis) in brackets under Mac Cruitín. It is not a plain variant, and this page does not treat it as one.[4]

Sources

  1. Mac Airteáin — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/maca/mac-airteain.php
  2. Mac Cairteáin — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/macc/mac-cairteain.php
  3. Ó Cartáin — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/oc/o-cartain.php
  4. Mac Cruitín — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/macc/mac-cruitin.php
  5. Curtin — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/curtin.php
  6. Curtin — Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1901), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/varieties/list/406.php
  7. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 1376 (part 1) — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005D/text001.html
  8. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 1404 (part 4) — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005D/text004.html
  9. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 1434 (part 7) — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005D/text007.html
  10. Mac Curtáin – Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/macc/mac-curtain.php
  11. Ó Curtáin – Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/oc/o-curtain.php

Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).