Show ContentsLoner History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The many Irish surnames in use today have long rich histories behind them. The name Loner originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Longargain.

Early Origins of the Loner family

The surname Loner was first found in County Tipperary (Irish: Thiobraid Árann), established in the 13th century in South-central Ireland, in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

One of the first records of the family was "at the synod of Kells, 1152, [when] Cardinal Paparo gave a pallium to Donat O'Lonergan of Cashel, and since then his successors have ruled the ecclesiastical province of Munster. " [1]

Early History of the Loner family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Loner research. Another 64 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Loner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Loner Spelling Variations

One explanation for the many variations is that scribes and church officials frequently spelled the name as it sounded: an imprecise method at best. Understandably then, various spellings of the surname Loner were found in the many archives researched. These included Lonergan, Landergan, Landrigan, Ladrigan, Lonagan, Landragan, Longargan and many more.

Early Notables of the Loner family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

  • Thomas Lonergan was a noted Irish American poet

Migration of the Loner family

A great wave of Irish migration occurred during the 19th century as a direct result of English colonial rule and tight-fisted absentee landlords. Many of these Irish immigrants boarded passenger ships bound for North America. Those who migrated early enough were given land in either British North America or the United States; those who came in the late 19th century were typically employed in industrial centers as laborers. At whatever age they undertook the dangerous passage to North America, those Irish immigrants were essential to the speedy development of the two infant nations to which they arrived, whether they broke and settled land, helped build canals, bridges, and railroads, or produced products for consumer consumption. An examination of immigration and passenger lists has uncovered a large number of immigrants bearing the name Loner or one of its variants: Edward Landragan settled in Philadelphia in 1858 along with John; Thomas and Andrew Landragaon arrived in Philadelphia in 1876; Edmund and Michael Lonergan arrived in Philadelphia in 1856..



  1. Herbermann, Charles George, ed. The Catholic Encyclopedia New York: Appleton, 1913. Print


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