| ![Show Contents]() Ragen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Irish surnames are linked to the long Gaelic heritage of the Island nation. The original Gaelic form of the name Ragen is Ó Riagain. In County Waterford, the Gaelic form Ó Reagain is used. Early Origins of the Ragen familyThe surname Ragen was first found in County Meath (Irish: An Mhí) anciently part of the kingdom of Brega, located in Eastern Ireland, in the province of Leinster, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. One of the oldest records of the family was Morice Regan (fl. 1171), an Irish interpreter. He is stated in an old French poem, of which the only text begins 'Par soen demeine latimer.' He is thought to have acted as an interpreter and herald, or envoy in the service of Diarmaid MacMurchada, King of Leinster. 1 Early History of the Ragen familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ragen research. Another 137 words (10 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Ragen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Ragen Spelling VariationsThe scribes who created documents long before either the Gaelic or English language resembled their standardized versions of today recorded words as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages the names of many people were recorded under different spellings each time they were written down. Research on the Ragen family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Reagan, Regan, O'Regan, O'Reagan and others. Early Notables of the Ragen familyMore information is included under the topic Early Ragen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Ragen familySuffering from poverty and racial discrimination, thousands of Irish families left the island in the 19th century for North America aboard cramped passenger ships. The early migrants became settlers of small tracts of land, and those that came later were often employed in the new cities or transitional work camps. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Although the immigrants from this period were often maligned when they arrived in the United States, they provided the cheap labor that was necessary for the development of that country as an industrial power. Early immigration and passenger lists have revealed many immigrants bearing the name Ragen: John Regan, who settled with his wife and three children in Prescott, Ontario, Canada, in 1825; James, John, Patrick, Thomas and William O'Regan, who all arrived at Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Ragen (post 1700) | + |
- Ragen Hatcher, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Mayor of Gary, Indiana, 2011 2
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
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