Condon

Condon is the name borne by a hibernicized Welsh-Norman family who entered Ireland at the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion, (1170). Originally, de Cauntenton, the name was Gaelicized Condun and later Anglicized Condon. This locational name is believed to derive ultimately from a place in Nottinghamshire called Caunton. Recorded as Calnestune in the Domesday Book of 1086 and as Calnotheston in the 1167, Pipe Rolls of that county, the place was so called from the old English pre 7th Century, personal name Calunoth, a compound of "Calu", bald, plus "noth", daring, and the old English "tun", a settlement. The north-eastern division of county Cork, close to the adjoining counties of Limerick and Tipperary, was possessed by the Condons and is now called the barony of Condons, their principal stronghold being the Castle of Cloghleagh near Kilworth. In 1605, David Condon in a letter to the Secretary of State, described himself as "Chief of his sept". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of de Cauntenton, which was dated circa 1170, "Medieval Records of Munster", during the reign of King Rory O' Conor, High King of Ireland, 1166 - 1198. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.