Gaghen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The Irish name Gaghen has a long Gaelic heritage to its credit. The original Gaelic form of the name Gaghen is Mag Eachain.

Early Origins of the Gaghen family

The surname Gaghen was first found in County Londonderry (Irish: Doire), a Northern Irish county also known as Derry, in the province of Ulster, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the Gaghen family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gaghen research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1641, 1730, 1804, 1730, 1747 and 1761 are included under the topic Early Gaghen History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gaghen Spelling Variations

Just like the English language, the Gaelic language of Ireland was not standardized in the Middle Ages. Therefore, one's name was often recorded under several different spellings during the life of its bearer. Spelling variations revealed in the search for the origins of the Gaghen family name include Gahan, Gaghan, Gagham, Getham, Gaham, Gahame and others.

Early Notables of the Gaghen family (pre 1700)

Notable amongst the family name at this time was William Gahan (1730-1804), Irish ecclesiastic and author, born in Dublin in June 1730. He was of a Leinster sept, the original name of which was O'Gaoithin, anglicised Gahan. He was educated at Dublin, became a member of the Augustinian order there, and in 1747 entered the Catholic university of Louvain, where he studied for eleven...
Another 64 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gaghen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gaghen migration to the United States +

Ireland became inhospitable for many native Irish families in the 19th centuries. Poverty, lack of opportunities, high rents, and discrimination forced thousands to leave the island for North America. The largest exodus of Irish settlers occurred with the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. For these immigrants the journey to British North America and the United States was long and dangerous and many did not live to see the shores of those new lands. Those who did make it were essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest and most powerful nations of the world. These Irish immigrants were not only important for peopling the new settlements and cities, they also provided the manpower needed for the many industrial and agricultural projects so essential to these growing nations. Immigration and passenger lists have documented the arrival of various people bearing the name Gaghen to North America:

Gaghen Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Andrew Gaghen, who arrived in New York in 1852 [1]

Contemporary Notables of the name Gaghen (post 1700) +

Peggie Gaghen, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Montana, 2000 [2]

The Gaghen Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Dum spiro spero
Motto Translation: While I have breath I hope.

Citations +

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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html