All Irish surnames have a unique and often romantic meaning. The name MacGrogan originally appeared in Gaelic as "O Grugain," which is derived from either "gruag," which means "hair," and "grug," which means "fierceness."
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Early Origins of the MacGrogan family
The surname MacGrogan was first found in County Roscommon (Irish: Ros Comáin) located in central Ireland in the province of Connacht, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.
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Early History of the MacGrogan family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our MacGrogan research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early MacGrogan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
MacGrogan Spelling Variations
Names written in official documents were generally spelt as they sounded, leading to the problem of one name being recorded under several different variations, creating the illusion in records of more than one person. Among the many spelling variations of the surname MacGrogan that are preserved in documents of the family history are Grogan, O'Grogan, Grogen, Groogen, Grugen, Groggan, O'Groogan and many more.
Early Notables of the MacGrogan family
More information is included under the topic Early MacGrogan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the MacGrogan family
Irish families began to immigrate to British North America and the United States in the 18th century, but the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. The earlier settlers came to North America after a great deal of consideration and by paying relatively high fees for their passage. These settlers were primarily drawn by the promise of land. Those later settlers that came during the 1840's were trying to escape the conditions of poverty, starvation, disease, and death that had stricken Ireland. Due to the enormity of their numbers and the late date of their arrival, these immigrants primarily became hired laborers instead of homesteading settlers like their predecessors. An exhaustive search of immigration and passenger lists has revealed many Irish immigrants North America bearing the name MacGrogan: Alexander Grogan settled in Virginia in 1652; Charles, James, Jeremiah, John, Michael, Nathaniel Grogan, all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.
Ireland
