| ![Show Contents]() Regal History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 Ireland Irish surnames are linked to the long Gaelic heritage of the Island nation. The original Gaelic form of the name Regal is Ó Riagain. In County Waterford, the Gaelic form Ó Reagain is used. Early Origins of the Regal familyThe surname Regal 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 Regal familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Regal research. Another 137 words (10 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Regal History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Regal Spelling VariationsDuring the Middle Ages, surnames were spelt by scribes solely based on how it sounded, one's name could have been recorded many different ways during the life of its bearer. Numerous spelling variations were revealed in the search for the origin of the name Regal family name. Variations found include Reagan, Regan, O'Regan, O'Reagan and others. Early Notables of the Regal familyMore information is included under the topic Early Regal Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
 Regal migration to the United States | + |
Under the rule of England, land ownership in Ireland changed dramatically, and many native Irish families found themselves renting out land to farm from absentee owners. This was one of the prime reasons that immigration to North America began in the late 18th century: Irish farmers dreamed of owning their own parcel of land to work for themselves. At this point, the immigrants were at least of modest means for the passage across the Atlantic was often quite dear. In the 1840s the Great Potato Famine created an exodus of people of quite different means. These people were most often destitute: they either sold anything they had to gain a passage or they were sponsored by philanthropic societies. Many of these immigrants were sick from disease and starvation: as a result many did not survive the long transatlantic journey. Although those settlers that did survive were often despised and discriminated against by people already established in these nations, they were critical to rapid development of the powerful industrial nations of the United States and the country that would later become known as Canada. An examination of immigration and passenger lists shows many persons bearing the name of Regal or one of its variants:
Regal Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Mike Regal, who arrived in Arkansas in 1885 2
| Contemporary Notables of the name Regal (post 1700) | + |
- Thomas Dale Regal, American Republican politician, Candidate for Michigan State Senate 27th District, 1974 3
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
|
Regal migration to the United States 
