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Irish surname

Morgan: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Morgán; Ó Muireagáin · Morgán: 'son of Morgan' (a Welsh personal name); Ó Muireagáin: 'descendant of Muireagán' (diminutive of some name commencing with Muir-)

Woulfe (1923) has a separate entry saying Morgán is 'son of Morgan' (a Welsh personal name), fairly common in Ireland but apparently not older than the 16th century. He also lists Morgan among the forms of the Irish name Ó Muireagáin, a family of Teffia in the present counties of Westmeath and Longford. In 1890 there were 132 Morgan birth entries in Ireland, 67 of them in Ulster.

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Coat of arms associated with the Morgan surname
Irish formMorgán; Ó Muireagáin
MeaningMorgán: 'son of Morgan' (a Welsh personal name); Ó Muireagáin: 'descendant of Muireagán' (diminutive of some name commencing with Muir-)
CountiesWestmeath, Longford, Down, Armagh
Other spellings4
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Origin of the Morgan name

Woulfe: Morgán, 'son of Morgan' (a Welsh personal name), 'apparently not older than the 16th century'. Separately, Ó Muireagáin (with Morgan among its forms): one of the chief families of Teffia, in the present counties of Westmeath and Longford, who disappeared from history about the beginning of the 12th century.[1][2]

  1. 1067Four Masters: Tadhg Ua Muireagain, lord of Teathbha, was killed by Muintir-Tlamain, in Maenmhagh.[4]
  2. 1101Four Masters: Cathal Ua Muireagain, lord of Teathbha, was killed by the people of the east of Teathbha.[5]
  3. 1890132 Morgan birth entries in Ireland: Leinster 37, Munster 16, Ulster 67, Connaught 12.[3]

Where in Ireland

Co. WestmeathWoulfe: Ó Muireagáin was one of the chief families of Teffia, in the present counties of Westmeath and Longford.[2]
Co. LongfordWoulfe: Ó Muireagáin was one of the chief families of Teffia, in the present counties of Westmeath and Longford.[2]
Co. DownWoulfe: in the 16th century Ó Muireagáin was most numerous in Down and Armagh; Matheson 1890 lists Down.[2][3]
Co. ArmaghWoulfe: in the 16th century Ó Muireagáin was most numerous in Down and Armagh; Matheson 1890 lists Armagh.[2][3]
Co. AntrimMatheson 1890: principally found in Antrim, Armagh, Down, Dublin and Louth.[3]

Notable people named Morgan

Lady Sydney Morganborn between 1780 and 1786Webb: Dublin-born authoress; The Wild Irish Girl (1806); married Sir Thomas Charles Morgan, M.D. Her surname Morgan was by marriage.[6]

Other spellings

O Morgan · Morgane · Murrigan · Merrigan[2]

The Morgan coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the Morgan surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.

Morgan surname: questions

Is Morgan an Irish or a Welsh surname?

Woulfe's own Morgán entry says it is 'son of Morgan' (a Welsh personal name), fairly common in Ireland but apparently not older than the 16th century. He also lists Morgan among the forms of the Irish name Ó Muireagáin. Because he gives these as two separate origins, not every Morgan descends from the Ó Muireagáin family.[1][2]

What does the Irish name Ó Muireagáin mean?

Woulfe gives 'descendant of Muireagán' (diminutive of some name commencing with Muir-).[2]

Where was the Ó Muireagáin family from?

Woulfe says one of the chief families of Teffia, in the present counties of Westmeath and Longford, sometimes lords of all that district, who disappeared from history about the beginning of the 12th century.[2]

Where in Ireland was Morgan found in 1890?

Matheson prints 132 Morgan birth entries in Ireland (Ulster 67, Leinster 37, Munster 16, Connaught 12), principally in Antrim, Armagh, Down, Dublin and Louth.[3]

Sources

  1. Morgán — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/mai/morgan.php
  2. Ó Muireagáin — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/om/o-muireagain.php
  3. Morgan — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/morgan.php
  4. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 1067 — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005B/text017.html
  5. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan), 1101 — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005B/text020.html
  6. Morgan, Sydney, Lady — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/LadySydneyMorgan.php

Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).