Contents [hide]

McGovern History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

McGovern History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The McGovern surname was originally the Irish Gaelic Mag Shamhrain, which is derived from the word "samhra," meaning "summer." 1

Early Origins of the McGovern family

The surname McGovern was first found in County Cavan. The family claim descent through "Breannan, brother of Hugh Fionn who is No. 93 on the 'O'Rourke' pedigree." 1

Early History of the McGovern family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McGovern research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1410, 1444, 1476, 1481, 1547, 1581, 1587 and 1593 are included under the topic Early McGovern History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

McGovern Spelling Variations

Names from the Middle Ages demonstrate many spelling variations. This is because the recording scribe or church official often decided as to how a person's name was spelt and in what language. Research into the name McGovern revealed many variations, including MacGovern, Magauran, MacGoveran, MacGoverin and others.

Early Notables of the McGovern family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

Cormac Mác Shamhradháin (Anglicized as Cormack Magauran or McGovern) (c.1410-1476), Roman Catholic Bishop of Ardagh (1444 to 1476)

McGovern Ranking

In the United States, the name McGovern is the 2,848^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 2

McGovern migration to the United States +

The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish families leaving Ireland for the distant shores of North America and Australia. These families often left their homeland hungry, penniless, and destitute due to the policies of England. Those Irish immigrants that survived the long sea passage initially settled on the eastern seaboard of the continent. Some, however, moved north to a then infant Canada as United Empire Loyalists after ironically serving with the English in the American War of Independence. Others that remained in America later joined the westward migration in search of land. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, though, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America, and those who arrived were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. In fact, the foundations of today's powerful nations of the United States and Canada were to a larger degree built by the Irish. Archival documents indicate that members of the McGovern family relocated to North American shores quite early:

McGovern Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Christopher McGovern, aged 37, who arrived in New York in 1812 3
Mathew McGovern, aged 36, who arrived in New York in 1812 3
Charles McGovern, who landed in New York, NY in 1815 3
Patrick McGovern, who landed in New York in 1850 3
James McGovern, aged 18, who arrived in New York, NY in 1850 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

McGovern migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

McGovern Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Patt McGovern, aged 28, who landed in Canada in 1812
John McGovern, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1813
Patrick McGovern, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1841
Miss. Bridget McGovern, aged 6 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Julius Casear" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle in October 1847 4
Mr. James McGovern, aged 20 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Free Trader" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle in October 1847 4

McGovern migration to Australia +

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

McGovern Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Nicholas McGovern, aged 37, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Sir Thomas Gresham" 5

McGovern migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

McGovern Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Michael McGovern, aged 23, a labourer, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Chile" in 1874
Mary McGovern, aged 22, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Chile" in 1874
Mary A. McGovern, aged 2, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Chile" in 1874
Patrick John McGovern, aged 27, a shepherd, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1876
Maggie McGovern, aged 19, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1876

Contemporary Notables of the name McGovern (post 1700) +

George Stanley McGovern (1922-2012), American Democratic Party politician and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1972 Democratic Party presidential nominee
Tim McGovern (1955-2024), American visual effects artist who won a Special Achievement Academy Award in the category Best Visual Effects for the film Total Recall
William E. "Bill" McGovern (1962-2023), American college and NFL football coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Chicago Bears
Ann McGovern Scheiner (1930-2015), née Weinberger, an American author of more than 55 children's books, selling over 30 million copies
Patrick Joseph McGovern Jr. (1937-2014), American chairman and founder of International Data Group (IDG)
Jim McGovern (b. 1965), American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1990's
Francis E. McGovern (1866-1946), American politician, 22nd Governor of Wisconsin
Maureen Therese McGovern (b. 1949), American singer and Broadway actress
Elizabeth McGovern (b. 1961), Academy Award-nominated American film and theater actress
John McGovern VC (1825-1888), Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross from Tullyhaw, County Cavan
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the McGovern family +

HMS Dorsetshire

Peter Mcgovern (d. 1945), British Stoker 1st Class aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 6

Ibrox disaster

John James McGovern (1947-1971), Scottish football supporter, from East Lothian 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 7

RMS Lusitania

Miss Mary G. Mazie Mcgovern, American 2nd Class passenger from Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 8

RMS Titanic

Miss Mary McGovern, aged 22, Irish Third Class passenger from Corlough, Cavan who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived in the sinking in life boat 13 9

Citations +

O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
"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)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 44)
South Australian Register Monday 20th March 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Sir Thomas Gresham 1858. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/sirthomasgresham1858.shtml
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
Bradford City Football Club In memory (retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://www.bradfordcityafc.com/club/in-memoriam/
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html