Denegan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The Irish surnames in use today are underpinned by a multitude of rich histories. The name Denegan originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Donnagain. The first portion of the name is probably derived from "donn," which means "brown," while the second portion of the name is probably derived from and ancient Irish personal name. 1

Early Origins of the Denegan family

The surname Denegan was first found in County Cork (Irish: Corcaigh) the ancient Kingdom of Deis Muin (Desmond), located on the southwest coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat at Muskerry, later moving to Limerick, Kildare and Dublin.

Early History of the Denegan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Denegan research. Another 114 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1300, 1395, 1412, 1413, 1634 and 1715 are included under the topic Early Denegan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Denegan Spelling Variations

In the Middle Ages many people were recorded under different spellings each time their name was written down. Research on the Denegan family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Donegan, Donnegan, Doneghan, Donneghan, Donagan, Donnagan, Donnaghan, Dunnegan, O'Donegan, O'Dunnegan, O'Donnaghan, Dongan, Donegin, Donnegin, Donnagen, Donagen, Donnegen, Donegen, Donnigan, Donigan, Dunnican, Dunican, Dunnigan, McDunnigan, McDonegan, Dongane, Dongin, Dongen and many more.

Early Notables of the Denegan family

Notable among the family name at this time was John Donegan (died 1413), a medieval Manx prelate. After holding the position of Archdeacon of Down, he held three successive bishoprics, Mann and the Isles (Sodor), then...
Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Denegan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Denegan migration to Canada +

Ireland saw an enormous decrease in its population in the 19th century due to immigration and death. This pattern of immigration began slowly in the late 18th century and gradually grew throughout the early portion of the 19th century. However, a dramatic increase in the country's immigration numbers occurred when the Great Potato Famine struck in the 1840s. The early immigrants to North America were primarily destined to be farmers tending to their own plot of land, those that came later initially settled within pre-established urban centers. These urban immigrants provided the cheap labor that the fast developing United States and soon to be Canada required. Regardless of their new lifestyle in North America, the Irish immigrants to the United States and Canada made invaluable contributions to their newly adopted societies. An investigation of immigrant and passenger lists revealed many Denegans:

Denegan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Timothy Denegan, aged 25, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1837 aboard the barque "Robert Watt" from Cork, Ireland
Margaret Denegan, aged 20, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1837 aboard the barque "Robert Watt" from Cork, Ireland

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print