Herkunft & Geschichte

In Ireland, Collins is most commonly an anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic 'O Coileain', meaning 'descendant of Coilean', where 'coilean' means 'whelp', 'young animal', or 'holly' — sources differ. The O'Collinses were lords of Ui Conaill Gabra in County Limerick and were pushed west into County Cork following the Anglo-Norman expansion. The name is most densely concentrated in County Cork and County Limerick. The surname may also be of English origin in some cases, derived from a medieval diminutive of Nicholas.