Show ContentsDeehant History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Deehant

What does the name Deehant mean?

The ancient Gaelic form of the Irish name Deehant was Ó Dubhaigan. The first portion of the name is the word dubh, which means black; the second portion is likely some obsolete Irish personal name.

Early Origins of the Deehant family

The surname Deehant was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where O'DuilAgin, O'Dugan, (or O'Deegan), chief of Muintir ConIochta, a district in the parish of Tomgraney, in the barony of Tullagh.

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. The name was first found near what is now the town of Fermoy, in the territory formerly known as Roche's Country. This territory encompassed the junction of the counties Cork, Tipperary and Waterford. In modern times, the surname is generally found in these three counties.

However, there was another O'Dugan sept in the territory called Ui Maine, also called Hy Many, which spans eastern county Galway and southern county Roscommon. This sept gave their name to the place called Ballyduggan, near Loughrea. 1

Early History of the Deehant family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Deehant research. Another 155 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1813, 1823, 1884 and 1896 are included under the topic Early Deehant History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Deehant Spelling Variations

Many different spelling variations of the surname Deehant exist in the archives researched. Ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include Dugan, Duggan, O'Duggan, Dougan, Douggan, Dewgan, Deugan and many more.

Early Notables of the Deehant family

Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Deehant Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Deehant family

During the middle of the 19th century, Irish families often experienced extreme poverty and racial discrimination in their own homeland under English rule. Record numbers died of disease and starvation, and many others, deciding against such a fate, boarded ships bound for North America. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Unfortunately, many of those Irish that arrived in Canada or the United States still experienced economic and racial discrimination. Although often maligned, these Irish people were essential to the rapid development of these countries because they provided the cheap labor required for the many canals, roads, railways, and other projects required for strong national infrastructures. Eventually the Irish went on to make contributions in the less backbreaking and more intellectual arenas of commerce, education, and the arts. Research early immigration and passenger lists revealed many early immigrants bearing the name Deehant: 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.



  1. MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)


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