Origin of the Name Spellman
The origin of the name
Spellman was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives.
Over the centuries Surnames developed a wide number of variants. Different spellings of the same name can be traced back to an original root. Additionally when a bearer of a name emigrated it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books at their new location. Surnames were also often altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another.
Variants of the name Spellman
include Spelman, Spollan, Spillane and Spilane. These names are derived from the Gaelic O'Spealain and MacSpealain septs that were originally located in Counties Tipperary and Sligo respectively.
A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. Irish septs and clans that are related often belong to even larger groups, sometimes called tribes.
One sept possessed territory in the Barony of Eliogarty in County Tipperary but were dispossessed by the O'Dwyers in mediaeval times. Another sept were of the Ui Fiachrach, with their territory being found in the parish of Kilglas in County Sligo. These Irish names developed quite a number of anglicized forms including Spillane and Spellman, Splane and Spallon. The name Spellman later became associated with Counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. In modern times these names are found well spread throughout the southern part of Ireland.
The Spellman 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 Spellman descendants.