Dargan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The name Dargan came to England with the ancestors of the Dargan family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Dargan family lived in Kent. The family was originally from De Arques, from the Castle of Arques, near Dieppe. "William de Arcis, his son, in 1086 held estates from Odo of Bayeux and Lafranc in Kent, and in Suffolk from Bernard de StAudoen, and Robert Malet." 1

Early Origins of the Dargan family

The surname Dargan was first found in Kent where William d'Arques was Lord of Folkestone in that shire, having been granted lands by William the Conqueror for his assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. William d'Arques was descended from the Vicomtes of Arques who held a castle four or five miles from Dieppe in Normandy.

"This name, which is not uncommon in the West of England, is probably identical with the De Arcis, of Domesday Book. William d'Arques, or de Arcis, was lord of Folkestone, co. Kent, temp. William I., having Bettled in England after the Norman Conquest. His ancestors were vicomtes of Arques, now a bourg and castle, four or five miles from Dieppe in Normandy." 2

Scanning through other early rolls revealed Juelina de Arches in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1201 and William de Arches c. 1150. 3

The parish of Melonsby in the North Riding of Yorkshire hold clues to an ancient origin there. "The Benedictine nunnery, was founded in the latter part of the reign of Stephen, or the earlier part of that of Henry II., by Roger D'Ark, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary." 4 Little is known of this branch of the family other that this entry and to date we can find no birth or death record for this individual.

Further to the north, "Hubert de Arches occurs in Scotland 1165-1214." 1 This entry is collaborated but with different dates, "Herbert de Arches witnessed a charter of the lands of Lesslyn (Leslie) to Malcolm filius Bartholf (c. 1171-1199.) Gilbertus de Arches witnessed confirmation of sale of the land of Scrogges to the church of Glasgow (c. 1208-1213.) Perhaps from Arques near Dieppe." 5

Early History of the Dargan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dargan research. Another 164 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1141, 1221, 1229, 1740, 1760 and 1761 are included under the topic Early Dargan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dargan Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Dark, Darke, Darque and others.

Early Notables of the Dargan family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William d'Arques, Lord of Folkeston, a sometime relative of the Duke of Normandy, and King of England.Isaac Darkin or Darking (1740-1761), born in the Eastcheap district of London, was a...
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dargan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dargan Ranking

In the United States, the name Dargan is the 12,654^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Dargan migration to Canada +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Dargan or a variant listed above:

Dargan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mr. James Dargan, aged 1 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Lady Campbell" departing from the port of Dublin, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle in September 1847 7
Miss. Margaret Dargan, aged 3 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Caithness-shire" departing 10th April 1847 from Belfast, Ireland; the ship arrived on 12th June 1847 but she died on board 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Dargan (post 1700) +

George William Dargan (1841-1898), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from South Carolina 6th District, 1883-91 9
Edmund Strother Dargan (1805-1879), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Alabama State Legislature; U.S. Representative from Alabama 1st District, 1845-47; Associate justice of Alabama State Supreme Court, 1847-52; 9
B. D. Dargan, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from South Carolina, 1940 9
Troy Dargan (1997-2023), Australian-born, Cook Islands international rugby league footballer who played as a five-eighth or halfback
William Dargan (1799-1867), Irish railway projector, the son of a farmer, born in the county of Carlow on 28 Feb. 1799 10
Henry Dargan McMaster (b. 1947), South Carolina's Republican attorney general

Citations +

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)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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. 23)
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. 72)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020