Cullen (surname)

Cullen is a surname of Gaelic origin. It is thought to be derived from the pre 8th century Old Gaelic name O' Cuileannain, with the prefix O' indicating a male descendant of, plus the personal byname Cuilleannain. The name seems to be related to Cullinane. While Cullen is encountered primarily in Dublin and southeast Ireland, Cullinan/Cullinane used almost exclusively in western Ireland on a North-South-Axis from Galway to Cork. A distribution map of the name has been processed on a genealogy site.

A Cullenite is a follower of any man named Cullen. Notable Cullens to have followers referred to as Cullenites include Scottish physician William Cullen and particularly Paul Cardinal Cullen, archbishop of Dublin and the first cardinal from Ireland. Notable Cullenites who followed Cardinal Cullen included George Joseph Plunket Browne, Bishop of Elphin, and Patrick Francis Moran, archbishop of Sidney and the first cardinal from Australia; indeed, "Cullenite" is used as an adjective in the phrases "Cullenite network" (used to describe a group of bishops who had been students of or were related to Cardinal Cullen, and many of whom became highly influential in the churches of Australia and New Zealand) and "the Cullenite church", used to describe the Irish church until the 1960, a church strongly allied to the "rural bourgeoisie" and the rising class of what are called "strong-farmers".

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