Horgan / Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Horgan / Family History

Horgan / Family History

The family history of the ancient name Horgan 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 Horgan include Horrigan, Hourigan, Arragan, Harrigan and Organ. These names are derived from the Gaelic O'hArgain sept that was located in County Cork in Munster Province. A sept or clan was a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. An early record of the name concerns a David O'Horegane, a kern of Leix, who received a pardon in the year 1551. A most notable person of the name was Rev. Mathew Horgan (1777-1849) who was a Gaelic scholar and poet. By the year 1890 there were 66 birth registrations of the name recorded in Counties Cork and Kerry. No less than four place-names are named after the sept, they being called Ballyhorgan.The Horgan 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 Horgan descendants.