Nolan is a surname, of Irish origin from Ó Nualláin, derived from Irish nuall meaning "noble, famous" combined with a diminutive suffix.[1] According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Nolans in Ireland were one of the chiefly families of the Loígis tribe who in turn came from the Cruthin tribe who were the first Celts to settle in Ireland from between 800 and 500 BC.[2]