The Clan/Sept History

O Neilan originally appeared in Gaelic as O Niallain, which means descendant of
Niall.

Names from the Middle Ages demonstrate many spelling variations. This is because
the recording scribe or church official often decided as to how a person's name
was spelt and in what language. Research into the name O Neilan revealed many
variations, including O'Neilan, O'Neylan, Neilan, Neylan, O'Nelan and others.
First found in county Clare.
During the 19th century thousands of impoverished Irish Families made the long
journey to British North America and the United States. These people were
leaving a land that had become beset with poverty, lack of opportunity, and
hunger. In North America, they hoped to find land, work, and political and
religious freedoms. Although the majority of the immigrants that survived the
long sea passage did make these discoveries, it was not without much
preseverence and hard work: by the mid-19th century land suitable for
agriculture was short supply, especially in British North America, in the east;
the work available was generally low paying and physically taxing construction
or factory work; and the English stereotypes concerning the Irish, although less
frequent and vehement, were, nevertheless, present in the land of freedom,
liberty, and equality for all men. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred
with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Research into passenger and
immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the O
Neilan family in North America: Humphry Nelan, who arrived in America between
the years 1735 and 1743; James Nelan, who arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia in
1843; John, Johanna and Elizabeth Neilan, who all died en route to Quebec in
1847.