Popular Irish Surnames: EGAN. Are you related?

EGAN
Egan in Irish is Mac Aodhagain, from a diminutive of the prsonal name Aodh, meaning ‘fire’, which was anglicised ‘Hugh’ for some strange reson. As well as Egan, Aodh is also the root of many other common Irish surnames, including O’Higgins, O’Hea, Hayes, McHugh, McCoy etc. The MacAodhagain originated in the Ui Maine territory of south Roscommon/east Galway, where they were hereditary lawyers and judges to the ruling families. Over the centuries, however, they became dispersed southwards, settling mainly in north Munster and east Leinster. As well as Connacht, their original homeland, they are now most numerous in Leinster, though the surname is now also relatively widespread throughout Ireland. In both Connacht and Leinster the surname has also sometimes been anglicised as ‘Keegan’.

Popular Irish Surnames: DUGGAN. Are you related?

DUGGAN
The Irish O Dubhagain is anglicised principally as ‘Duggan’, but may also be found as ‘Dugan’ or ‘Doogan’, the latter representing a more accurate rendition of the Irish pronunciation. The principal family of the name had their territory near the modern town of Fermoy in north Cork, and were part of the Fir Maighe tribal grouping which gave its name to the town. Alon with the other Fir Maighe families, they lost their power when the Normans conquered the territory in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The family name is found in the parish and townland of Caherduggan in that area. Another sept of the same name is famous in the Ui Maine area of east Galway/south Roscommon principally because it produced John O’Dugan (died 1372), chief poet of the O’Kellys, and co-author of the Topographical Poems, a long, detailed description of Ireland in the twelfth century.

Popular Irish Surnames: (O’) DRISCOLL. Are you related?

(O') DRISCOLL
In 1890, over 90 per cent of those bearing the name recorded themselves as ‘Driscoll’; today, in a remarkable reversal of the nineteenth-century trend, virtually all are called ‘O’Driscoll’. The surname comes from the Irish O hEidirsceoil, from eidirsceol, meaning ‘go-between’ or ‘bearer of news’. The original Eidirsceol from whom the family descend was born in the early tenth century, and since then they have been strongly associated with west Cork, in particular the area around Baltimore and Skibbereen, where they remained powerful up top the seventeenth century. They were part of the Corca Laoighde tribal grouping, descended from the Erainn or, Celts who were settled in Ireland before the arrival of the Gaels, and retained a distinct identity despite the dominance of the victorious newcomers. Their arms reflect the family’s traditional prowess as seafarers, developed during their long lordship of the seacoast around Baltimore.

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DOWLING
Although it may sometimes appear as a variant of ‘Dolan’, in most cases Dowling has a separate origin. In form the name is English, derived form the Old English dol, meaning ‘dull’ or ‘stupid’, but in Ireland it is generally an anglicisation of the Irish O Dunlaing. The original territory of the O Dunlaing was in the west of the present Co. Laois, along the banks of the river Barrow, which was known as Fearrann ua nDunlaing, O’Dowling’s country’. The leading members of the family were transplanted to Tarbert in Co. Kerry in 1609, along with other leaders of the ‘Seven Septs of Laois’, but the surname remained numerous in its original homeland, and spread south and west into Carlow, Kilkenny, Wicklow and Dublin, where it is now very common. As a first name Dunlang was popular in early medieval times in Leinster, where it was also anglicised as ‘Dudley’.

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Popular Irish Surnames: (O’) DOWD. Are you related?

(O') DOWD
At the end of the nineteenth century, the vast majority of bearers of this surname, by a proportion of four to one, were ‘Dowd’ rather than O’Dowd. Since then, a large-scale resumption of the ‘O’ has reversed the proportions, with the ‘O’Dowd’ now by far the most popular. The original Irish name was O Dubhda, from dubh, meaning ‘black’. In the traditional genealogies, the family is one of the Ui Fiachrach, a large tribal grouping tracing its origin back to Fiachra, brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the fifth-century monarch supposedly responsible for kidnapping St. Patrick to Ireland. The O’Dowds were the most powerful in this group, and for centuries their territory included large parts of northwest Mayo and west Sligo; the name is still numerous in the area today. The surname also appears to have arisen separately in two other areas of the country: in Munster, where the anglicisations ‘Doody’ and ‘Duddy’ are quite frequent in the Kerry area, and in Derry, where the anglicisation is almost invariably ‘Duddy’.

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Popular Irish Surnames: DORAN. Are you related?

DORAN
Doran is in Irish O Deorain, a contracted form of O Deoradhain, from deoradh, meaning ‘exile’ or ‘pilgrim’. The surname has also been anglicised as ‘Dorrian’, principally in the northern counties of Armagh and Down, where a branch was established in early times.The major fame of the family, however, was in Leinster where for centuries they were hereditary judges and lawyers (‘brehons’) to the rulers of the ancient territory of Ui Cinnsealaigh, the MacMurroughs. This territory took in all of the present Co. Wexford as well as adjoining parts of south Wicklow and Carlow, and the Dorans are still most numerous in this area today, with the placename ‘Doransland’ in Wexford providing evidence of their long association with the area. In modern times, Dorans have been famous as Wexford sportsmen, with families from Enniscorthy, Monamolin and Gorey prominent in football, hurling and cycling.

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Popular Irish Surnames: DOLAN. Are you related?

DOLAN
In Irish the surname is O Dubhshlain, from dubh, meaning ‘black’ and slan, meaning ‘challange’ or ‘defiance’. Other anglicised versions include ‘Doolan’ and ‘Dowling’. It first arose as part of the Ui Maine tribal grouping in south Roscommon and east Galway, and from there spread to the northeast into counties Leitrim, Cavan and Fermanagh. It remains numerous in all five counties today, and is particularly common in Co. Cavan. In places it is also given as an anglicisation of O Doibhilin, probably derived from dobhail, meaning ‘unlucky’, and more usually rendered into English as ‘Devlin’. Many of the Dolans of Co. Sligo are of this stock.

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Popular Irish Surnames DILLON. Are you related?

Surnames DILLON
In Ireland Dillon may be of Gaelic or Norman origin, the former from O Duilleain, possibly from dall, meaning ‘blind’, the latter from de Leon, from the place of the same name in Brittany. This, of course, accounts for the lion in the family arms. The Norman family have been prominent in Ireland since the arrival of their ancestor Sir Henry de Leon in 1185. He was granted vast estates in counties Longford and Westmeath, and his descendants retained their power up to modern times, with Co Westmeath becoming known as ‘Dillons Country’. Another branch of the family settled in Co Mayo, where they are still well known today. After the Williamite wars of the seventeenth century, a number of members of the family served in Continental armies. The best known Irish regiment in the French army was ‘Dillons Regiment’, many members of which made their way to America to fight against the British in the War of Independence.

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Popular Irish Surnames: DEMPSEY. Are you related?

DEMPSEY
In the original Irish Dempsey is O Diomasaigh, from diomasach, meaning ‘proud’. The name was also occasionally anglicised ‘Proudman’. The O Diomsaigh originated in the territory of Clanmalier, on the borders of what are now counties Laois and Offaly, and remained powerful in the area until the seventeenth century. James 1 recognised the strength of the family by granting the title ‘Viscount Clanmalier’ to Terence Dempsey. The loyalty of the family to the crown was short-lived, however, and the Williamite wars later in the century destroyed their power and scattered them. The surname is now found throughout the country. In Ulster, Dempsey is common in Co Antrim, where it may be a version of ‘Dempster’, a Scottish name meaning ‘judge’, or possibly an anglicisation of Mac Diomasaigh, also sometimes rendered as ‘McGimpsey’.

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Popular Irish Surnames: DELANEY. Are you related?

DELANEY
In its form, Delaney is a Norman name, form De l’aunaie, meaning ‘form the alder grove’, and doubtless some of those bearing the name in Ireland are of Norman stock. However, in the vast majority if cases it was adopted as the anglicised form of the original Irish O Dubhshlaine, from dubh, meaning ‘black’, and slan, meaning ‘defiance’. The original territory of the O Dubhshlaine was at the foot of the Slieve Bloom mountains in Co. Laois. From there they spread also in neighbouring Co. Kilkenny, and the surname is still strongly associated with these two counties. The most famous historical bearer of the surname was Patrick Delaney (1685-6-1768), Church of Ireland clergyman, renowned preacher and close friend of Jonathan Swift, of whom he wrote a celebrated ‘Defence’.

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