Dougan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The ancient Gaelic form of the Irish name Dougan was Ó Dubhaigan. The first portion of the name is the word dubh, which means black; the second portion is likely some obsolete Irish personal name.

Early Origins of the Dougan family

The surname Dougan was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where O'DuilAgin, O'Dugan, (or O'Deegan), chief of Muintir ConIochta, a district in the parish of Tomgraney, in the barony of Tullagh.

The family line is directly traceable to Fergus Mor (Fergus the Great). In turn his ancestry is associated with King Ir, brother of the equally famous Heremon. The name was first found near what is now the town of Fermoy, in the territory formerly known as Roche's Country. This territory encompassed the junction of the counties Cork, Tipperary and Waterford. In modern times, the surname is generally found in these three counties.

However, there was another O'Dugan sept in the territory called Ui Maine, also called Hy Many, which spans eastern county Galway and southern county Roscommon. This sept gave their name to the place called Ballyduggan, near Loughrea. 1

Early History of the Dougan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dougan research. Another 155 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1813, 1823, 1884 and 1896 are included under the topic Early Dougan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dougan Spelling Variations

Many different spelling variations of the surname Dougan exist in the archives researched. Ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include Dugan, Duggan, O'Duggan, Dougan, Douggan, Dewgan, Deugan and many more.

Early Notables of the Dougan family

Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dougan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dougan Ranking

In the United States, the name Dougan is the 11,888^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Dougan migration to the United States +

During the middle of the 19th century, Irish families often experienced extreme poverty and racial discrimination in their own homeland under English rule. Record numbers died of disease and starvation, and many others, deciding against such a fate, boarded ships bound for North America. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Unfortunately, many of those Irish that arrived in Canada or the United States still experienced economic and racial discrimination. Although often maligned, these Irish people were essential to the rapid development of these countries because they provided the cheap labor required for the many canals, roads, railways, and other projects required for strong national infrastructures. Eventually the Irish went on to make contributions in the less backbreaking and more intellectual arenas of commerce, education, and the arts. Research early immigration and passenger lists revealed many early immigrants bearing the name Dougan:

Dougan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Dougan, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1834 3
John Dougan, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 3
Michael Dougan, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 3
M Dougan, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
Hugh Dougan, who landed in America in 1855 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dougan migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Dougan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Dougan, (b. 1830), aged 13, British labourer who was convicted in Liverpool, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Asiatic" on 26th May 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1845 4
Miss Johanna Dougan who was convicted in Liverpool, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 16th November 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Mary Ann Dougan, English convict from Lancaster, who was transported aboard the "Angelina" on April 25, 1844, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 6
Catherine Dougan, aged 25, a farm servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "James Fernie" 7
James Dougan, aged 23, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Aliquis"
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Dougan (post 1700) +

William T. Dougan, American politician, Mayor of Niles, Michigan, 1892
Thomas Dougan, American politician, Member of North Carolina State Senate, 1783-84
J. E. Dougan, American Republican politician, Chair of Hendricks County Republican Party, 1905 8
George W. Dougan, American politician, Mayor of Niles, Michigan, 1887
Brady W. Dougan (b. 1959), American businessman
Alexander Derek Dougan (1938-2007), Northern Irish professional footballer
Benjamin Hayes Dougan (1867-1940), Canadian physician and politician
Thomas Dougan (b. 1915), Scottish footballer
Susan Dougan (b. 1974), Northern Irish afternoon presenter on Radio Cambridgeshire
Maxwell Spalding "Max" Dougan, Scottish former professional footballer
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Dougan family +

Ibrox disaster

Charles Dougan (1940-1971), Scottish football supporter, from Dumbartonshire who was at the Ibrox disaster on 2nd January 1971 when a human crush among the crowd killed 66 and injured 200 people he died of his injuries 9

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asiatic
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 31st March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 27) Angelina voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1844 with 171 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/angelina/1844
South Australian Register Friday 17th November 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) James Fernie 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/jamesfernie1854.shtml
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, September 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Bradford City Football Club In memory (retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://www.bradfordcityafc.com/club/in-memoriam/