Show ContentsDuigyn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Duigyn

What does the name Duigyn mean?

The ancient Gaelic form of the Irish name Duigyn 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 Duigyn family

The surname Duigyn 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 Duigyn family

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

Duigyn Spelling Variations

In the days before Gaelic or English gained any significant semblance of standardization, the scribes who created documents simply recorded names as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages many people were recorded under different spellings each time their name was written down. Research into the Duigyn family history revealed numerous spelling variations of the name, including Dugan, Duggan, O'Duggan, Dougan, Douggan, Dewgan, Deugan and many more.

Early Notables of the Duigyn family

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

Migration of the Duigyn family

In the 18th and 19th centuries, hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants landed on North American shores. Although many of them were merely looking for a free plot of land and living of their very own, many later immigrants were desperately fleeing an overcrowded land that did not have sufficient food for its inhabitants. The exodus from Ireland was greatest during the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine had stricken the island. Although this large influx of Irish was unpopular with the great majority of people already established within the major centers, these Irish were critical to the speedy development of the United States and those colonies that would eventually become known as Canada. These immigrants provided the cheap labor required to build modern roads, bridges, canals, and railways. Research of passenger and immigration lists has shown a number of immigrants to North America baring the name of Duigyn: 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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