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Irish surname

Jordan: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Siúrdán; Mac Shiúrtáin · 'son of Jordan' (a personal name derived from the river Jordan)

Jordan in Ireland is an Anglo-Norman name. Woulfe (1923) gives two families: Siúrdán, an Anglo-Norman family who settled early in Dublin, Meath, Limerick and elsewhere, and Mac Shiúrtáin, a patronymic taken by the descendants of Jordan D'Exeter, an Anglo-Norman family in Co. Mayo. In 1890, 98 Jordan births were registered in Ireland, chiefly in Dublin, Mayo, Antrim and Galway.

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Coat of arms associated with the Jordan surname
Irish formSiúrdán; Mac Shiúrtáin
Meaning'son of Jordan' (a personal name derived from the river Jordan)
CountiesDublin, Mayo, Antrim, Galway
Other spellings4
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Origin of the Jordan name

Anglo-Norman. Woulfe's Siúrdán: 'an Anglo-Norman family who settled early in Dublin, Meath, Limerick, &c.' His Mac Shiúrtáin, to be distinguished from it: a patronymic 'assumed by the descendants of Jordan D'Exeter, an Anglo-Norman family who settled in Co. Mayo'. The personal name Jordan comes from the river Jordan and became popular in crusading times.[1][2]

  1. 1571Campion calls the Mayo Mac Siúrtáin family 'very wild Irish'.[2]
  2. End of the 16th centuryJordan of Hilton a chief Dublin gentleman; three Jordans mayors of Limerick.[1]
  3. 189098 Jordan births registered in Ireland, chiefly Dublin, Mayo, Antrim and Galway.[3]

Where in Ireland

Co. DublinFirst county named for Jordan births in 1890; Woulfe: Jordan of Hilton among Dublin's chief gentlemen.[3][1]
Co. MayoHome of Mac Shiúrtáin, descendants of Jordan D'Exeter; a principal Jordan county in 1890.[2][3]
Co. AntrimAmong the counties where Jordan was principally found in 1890.[3]
Co. GalwayAmong the counties where Jordan was principally found in 1890.[3]
Co. LimerickEarly Siúrdán settlement; three of the name were mayors of Limerick at the end of the 16th century.[1]
Co. MeathOne of the places where the Anglo-Norman Jordans settled early (Woulfe).[1]

Other spellings

Jurdan · Jourdan · Jordane · M'Jordaine[1][2]

The Jordan coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the Jordan 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.

Jordan surname: questions

Is Jordan an Irish surname?

It has been in Ireland since the Anglo-Normans. Woulfe gives two Anglo-Norman families: Siúrdán, who settled early in Dublin, Meath and Limerick, and Mac Shiúrtáin, the descendants of Jordan D'Exeter in Co. Mayo.[1][2]

What does the surname Jordan mean?

'Son of Jordan'. Woulfe says the personal name comes from the river Jordan and became popular in crusading times, when flasks of Jordan water were brought home for baptisms.[1]

Where in Ireland is the Jordan name from?

In 1890 Jordan births were found chiefly in Dublin, Mayo, Antrim and Galway. Woulfe places the Anglo-Norman Jordans in Dublin, Meath and Limerick, and the Mac Shiúrtáin family in Co. Mayo.[3][1][2]

What is Mac Shiúrtáin?

A patronymic surname, 'son of Jordan', taken by the descendants of Jordan D'Exeter, an Anglo-Norman family in Co. Mayo; Woulfe says it is often pronounced Ó Ciúrtáin.[2]

Sources

  1. Siúrdán — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/s/siurdan.php
  2. Mac Shiúrtáin — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/macs/mac-shiurtain.php
  3. Jordan — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/jordan.php

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