Show ContentsHarragan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

While the Anglicized versions of Irish names are familiar to most people, many Irish names have a long and proud Gaelic heritage that is often unknown. The original Gaelic form of the name Harragan is Ó hArgain.

Early Origins of the Harragan family

The surname Harragan was first found in County Cork (Irish: Corcaigh) the ancient Kingdom of Deis Muin (Desmond), located on the southwest coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they were part of the main tribe in prehistoric times, known as the Corca Laoidhe.

Early History of the Harragan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Harragan research. Another 174 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1715, 1849, 1880 and 1922 are included under the topic Early Harragan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Harragan Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, a standardized literary language known by the general population of Ireland was a thing of fiction. When a person's name was recorded by one of the few literate scribes, it was up that particular scribe to decide how to spell an individual's name. So a person could have several spelling variations of his name recorded during a single lifetime. Research into the name Harragan revealed many variations, including Horgan, O'Horgan, Horgon, Hourigan, Horrigan, O'Hourigan, O'Horrigan, Arragan, O'Arragan, Aragan, Harrigan, O'Harrigan and many more.

Early Notables of the Harragan family

More information is included under the topic Early Harragan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Canada Harragan migration to Canada +

Ireland saw an enormous decrease in its population in the 19th century due to immigration and death. This pattern of immigration began slowly in the late 18th century and gradually grew throughout the early portion of the 19th century. However, a dramatic increase in the country's immigration numbers occurred when the Great Potato Famine struck in the 1840s. The early immigrants to North America were primarily destined to be farmers tending to their own plot of land, those that came later initially settled within pre-established urban centers. These urban immigrants provided the cheap labor that the fast developing United States and soon to be Canada required. Regardless of their new lifestyle in North America, the Irish immigrants to the United States and Canada made invaluable contributions to their newly adopted societies. An investigation of immigrant and passenger lists revealed many Harragans:

Harragan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • James Harragan, aged 23, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the brig "Trafalgar" from Liverpool, England


Houseofnames.com on Facebook