Name spelt Collins in NZGS marriage record index
Surname: Colleran
Recorded in several spellings including O' Calleran, Calleran, O' Colleran, Colleran, Calerane, Colerin, Colerine, and Colrein, this is an Irishsurname. It has unproven or perhaps doubtful origins. It is apparently from County Galway and County Mayo, and by any standards is very rare onlyseventeen families being so recorded in any spelling in the 1865 county census, and hardly any more in more recent recordings. It would seem to havebeen recorded as O' Calleran at least as far back as 1602, although the actual origination is probably Norse-Viking pre 9th century. If this iscorrect the ancient spelling would have been 'Coll' which although used as a personal name actually means 'hill', and to this over the centuries hasbeen added a diminutive suffix. This is usually '-ain' meaning 'little,' but more probably translates as 'son of'. It is also possible that the nameis locational from the town of Coleraine in Ulster, but very few Irish surnames are locational so inspite of the spelling this is unlikely. Earlyexamples of recordings include Teag O' Calleran in the rebels list of Ireland in 1601, Henry Calerane at St James Clerkenwell, in the city ofLondon, on January 8th 1717, Nathaniel Colerin, who married Sarah Carter at St Dunstans in the East, Stepney, on July 7th 1724, and BridgetColleran, at Lowpartk, County Mayo, on July 21st 1864.

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Turned Catholic. Converted to Presb. to marry. Suicide under pressure to reform. Did she have a step sister, Colleran?62