
Origin of the Name Casey
The
Casey family history was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. Casey is an Irish name meaning valorous, brave and watchful. There were six unrelated septs of O'Casey.
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 septs territory was comprised of Balrothery West, County Dublin, and another held lands in County Fermanagh. Both have now dispersed although the name is still common in these parts. The four other septs held territory in West Munster and North Connacht, where the name is now chiefly found. The archaeological remains called O'Casey's Lios at Ballygunnermore, bear testament to the Caseys near Waterford. A well known person of the name was Admiral Joseph Gregory O'Casey, 1787-1862, Minister of Marine in the Government of France .
The Casey 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 Casey descendants.