Cremins

Recorded as Creamen, Cremen, Cremin, Cremins, Crimin, Crimmin, Crimmins, and possibly others, this is a rare and unusual surname. There is a saying amongst researchers, that if you are stuck on a name, look in Ireland, and sure enough again the system has worked. This is a rare and ancient Irish surname. Originally O' Cruimin, meaning literally "The grandson (or male descendant) of the disabled one," it is a surname of the province of Munster, and very much from the far south west counties of Cork and Kerry. However according to the late Edward MacLysaght, it originated from County Limerick, and traditionally they were a branch of Clan MacCarthy, for many centuries the overlords of the region. It is said that in Bantry the name Cremin and McCarthy are interchangeable, although having lived there for some years, this "flexibility" was never brought to the attention of this particular researcher! What we do know is that many of the name left the area during the Great Famine of 1846 - 1848 never to return. A good example being Denis Cremin, aged nineteen, who left Cobh on the ship Mayfield of Liverpool, bound for New York on June 25th 1846.