Madigan Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Madigan Family History

Madigan Family History

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

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 Madigan include Madden, O'Madden and McAvaddy. This Irish Sept, called O'Madagain, was a branch of the Hy Many, whose territory was in County Galway in the West of the country. Their Chief was Lord of that territory and after the Angl-Norman Invasion retained his Lordship under the De Burgos. In modern times the Maddens are still numerous in that area. In the heyday of landlordism, prior to the Land Acts, the families estates, principally in Mayo, Leitrim and Fermanagh, comprised some 25,000 acres. A Madden family of English origin is also found in Ireland, and gave their name to the village of Maddenton, in County Kildare. The Madigan 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 Madigan descendants.