First found in County Clare, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. 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.

Often leaving from racial discrimination and colonial oppression, thousands of families left Ireland in the 19th century for North America aboard passenger ships. Many early immigrants found a plot of land to call their own, something unimaginable for most Irish Families. Those that arrived later were often accomodated as laborers since there was a large demand for cheap labor. This was the fate for many of the families that arrived in North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Whether they became agrarian settlers or industrial workers, the Irish that came to North America were invaluable for rapid development of the infant nations of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Duggar or a variant listed above: James Dugan who settled in New York State in 1775; John Duggen, who arrived in Maryland in 1739; Cornelius Duggin, who arrived in Albany, NY in 1762; John Duggin, who came to Boston in 1765.

For more information on the last name Duggar, the PDF Surname History is available for purchase as well as other products.