Show ContentsBuggans History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Buggans claims Normandy, France as their original homestead. It is here that "Herebertus Bogin occurs in Normandy [in] 1180," according to the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae. 1 Landing in England, sometime after the Conquest, the family had a wide variety of spellings in use at that time. One noted source presumes that name was "a diminutive of the Middle English word bugge meaning ‘hobgoblin, bogey, scarecrow’. 2

Early Origins of the Buggans family

The surname Buggans was first found in Staffordshire where Thomas Buggynges was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1380. A very rare name we must look to the 16th century to find William Buggyns in Devon in 1560. 2

Boggins are characters in a traditional annual event and game named Haxey Hood, which has been held at Haxey, North Lincolnshire, England since the 14th century. For this fun event, Boggins are people of the nearby bog.

Early History of the Buggans family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Buggans research. Another 152 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1487, 1510, 1551 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Buggans History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Buggans Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence in the eras before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate regularly changed the spellings of their names as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Buggans have been found, including Buggins, Buggin, Buggyn, Buggine, Buggan, Buggans, Boggins, Boggans, Buckins, Buckin, Bockin, Buggen, Buggens and many more.

Early Notables of the Buggans family

More information is included under the topic Early Buggans Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Buggans family

For many English families, the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. For such families, the shores of Ireland, Australia, and the New World beckoned. They left their homeland at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. Many arrived after the long voyage sick, starving, and without a penny. But even those were greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. Numerous English settlers who arrived in the United States and Canada at this time went on to make important contributions to the developing cultures of those countries. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Buggans were among those contributors: the name represented in many forms and recorded from the mid 17th century in the great migration from Europe. Migrants settled in the eastern seaboard from Newfoundland, to Maine, to Virginia, the Carolinas, and to the islands..



  1. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)


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