Gavin Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Gavin Family History

Gavin Family History

The ancient origin of the name Gavin was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Gavin include Gavan, Gaven and Gavhin. This name in Irish is O'Gabhain and the latter variants are the anglicized forms of this. This sept came from County Cork.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

These families were a branch of the Corca Laoidhe located in southwest Cork who later spread to the other Munster Counties. In 1584 a Gavin of Ballynerine, County Limerick, was recorded as being 'in rebellion'. Eleven families of the name Gavan are recorded in the County Tipperary Hearth Money Rolls in the year 1665. In statistics of birth registrations in 1890 there were 66 births of the name in Ireland with 42 of these in Counties Mayo and Galway. In modern times the name is mostly found in the western Counties.The Gavin family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Gavin descendants.