Origin of the Name Fullerton
The
Fullerton family history was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. The Fullertons are of Gaelic origin having originated as a branch of the Scottish clan Stewart of Bute. They are also well associated with Ulster Province in Ireland . In Scotland placenames of these families include Fullerton near Ayr and Foulertoun near Forfar. Variants of the name include Fulerton, Fullarton, Foulerton and Fulton. These names are found in many medieval manuscripts. Examples of such are a Thomas de Fulton who is recorded as having witnessed a donation to the Monastery of Paisley in the year 1260. An Adam de Fowlerton is recorded as having had a charter of lands at Foullartoun and Gaylis in Kyle Stewart from James the High Steward in the year 1283. A branch of the family settled in Arran and are said to have had a charter of the lands of Kilmichael there in the year 1307.
In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland , especially during the seventeenth century. It was the 'Plantations of Ireland ' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that marked the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland . While the influx of settlers in the wake of the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century resulted in a full integration into Irish society of the new arrivals, the same never occurred with the Ulster Planters who maintained their own distinct identity.
The Fullerton coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Fullerton descendants.