Phelan (surname)
Phelan is an Irish surname, one of the two most common anglicisations (the other being Whelan) of the Irish surname Ó Faoláin (which comes from the Irish for "wolf").[1] The name is commonly seen in the south-east of Ireland, particularly counties Waterford and Kilkenny.
An alternate pronunciation is "Fee-lan", but in some parts of Kilkenny there is also use of "Fay-lan" or even "Way-lan". This is understandable, since the name comes from the same origin as Whelan, and the Irish form itself is pronounced "Fay-lawn".
List of persons with the surname
- Ann Phelan, Irish Labour Party politician
- Anne Phelan (born 1944), Australian actress
- Art Phelan (1887 - 1964), American baseball player
- Chris Phelan, Australian rugby league footballer
- Daniel J. Phelan, (born 1959) college president, Jackson College (MI)
- Daniel Phelan, (born 1984) American Film Director
- Edward Phelan (1811–1850), American settler
- Edward J. Phelan (1888–1967), Director-General of the United Nations International Labor Office
- Gerard Phelan (contemporary), former college football player at Boston College
- Jacquie Phelan (contemporary), American mountain biker
- James Phelan, Sr. (1821–1873), American politician; senator in the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War
- James Phelan, Jr. (1856–1891), American politician; U.S. Senator from Tennessee
- James Clancy Phelan (born 1979), Australian author
- James Phelan (1892–1974), American college football coach
- James Phelan Investigative journalist [2]
- James D. Phelan (1861–1930), American politician and banker; mayor of San Francisco and U.S. Senator from California
- Jim Phelan (born 1929), American college basketball coach
- John J. Phelan (1851–after 1900), American politician; Secretary of the State of Connecticut 1893–1895
- John Paul Phelan (born 1978), member of the 22nd Seanad Éireann for Fine Gael
- Kevin Phelan (born 1990), Irish professional golfer
- Kieran Phelan (born 1949), Irish politician and member of the Seanad Éireann for Fianna Fáil
- L.A.M. Phelan, (fl. 1910–1955), American businessman and inventor, founded Broaster company
- Michael L. Phelan (born 1947), Canadian judge of the Federal Court of Canada
- Mike Phelan (born 1962), English footballer
- Nancy Phelan (born 1913), Australian writer
- Paddy Phelan (1910–1971), Irish hurler
- Patricia Phelan (contemporary), Zen priestess
- Patrick Phelan (1795–1857), Irish-Canadian priest
- Patrick Phelan (born 1970), video game audio composer, manager, and producer
- Patrick Phelan (born 1985), American professional soccer player
- Ryan Phelan (born 1975), Australian television presenter
- Richard Phelan (1825–1904), Roman Catholic bishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- Santiago Phelan (born 1974), Argentine rugby union player and coach
- Scott Phelan (born 1988), English football player
- Terry Phelan (born 1967), Irish professional football player
- Twist Phelan, American author and former attorney
Fictional characters
- Andrea Phelan, correctional officer on the HBO television show Oz
- Daniel Phelan, judge on the HBO television show The Wire
- Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, one of the main characters in The Help by Kathryn Stockett
- Francis Phelan, character in many of William Kennedy’s Albany novels
- Phelan, leader of the black market in a Season 2 episode of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica
- Sally Phelan, a minor character from the Doctor Who episode The Age of Steel
- Sam Phelan, crooked cop from the first season of the television series Smallville
- Pat Phelan, a former minor character from Coronation Street