From Ó Coileáin, ‘whelp’ or ‘young hound’ — a Limerick and Cork name, later carried by Michael Collins.
The Collins certificate.
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Gaelic Origin · Root meaning ‘whelp, young dog’
Collins comes from cuileán (‘whelp’ or ‘young hound’) — in Gaelic tradition, again, a mark of promise rather than insult. The Ó Coileáin sept held ground in Limerick and west Cork, the same corner of Ireland that would, centuries later, produce Michael Collins.
A young hound's name for a family that, in the end, helped found a nation — promise, it turned out, was the right word all along.
Irish form: Ó Coileáin
