Hannigan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The Irish name Hannigan originally appeared in Gaelic as "O hEanain," but sometimes is an abbreviated form of the surname Henagahn.

Early Origins of the Hannigan family

The surname Hannigan was first found in County Tipperary (Irish: Thiobraid Árann), established in the 13th century in South-central Ireland, in the province of Munster, and Offaly where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Hannigan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hannigan research. Another 117 words (8 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Hannigan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hannigan Spelling Variations

People who were accounted for by scribes and church officials often had their name recorded many different ways because pronunciation was the only guide those scribes and church officials had to go by. This resulted in the problem of one person's name being recorded under several different variations, creating the illusion of more than one person. Among the many spelling variations of the surname Hannigan that are preserved in archival documents are Heenan, Henaghan, Henehan, Heenon, Hanegan, Hannegan, Hanigan, Hannigan, Haneghan and many more.

Early Notables of the Hannigan family

More information is included under the topic Early Hannigan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hannigan Ranking

In the United States, the name Hannigan is the 9,127^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Hannigan migration to the United States +

Irish families left their homeland in astonishing numbers during the 19th century in search of a better life. Although individual reasons vary, most of these Irish families suffered from extreme poverty, lack of work opportunities, and exorbitant rents in their homeland. Many decided to travel to Australia or North America in the hopes of finding greater opportunities and land. The Irish immigrants that came to North America initially settled on the East Coast, often in major centers such as Boston or New York. But like the many other cultures to settle in North America, the Irish traveled to almost any region they felt held greater promise; as a result, many Irish with gold fever moved all the way out to the Pacific coast. Others before that time left for land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula, or the Maritimes as United Empire Loyalists, for many Irish did choose to side with the English during the American War of Independence. The earliest wave of Irish migration, however, occurred during the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s. An examination of early immigration and passenger lists has revealed many people bearing the Hannigan name:

Hannigan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Dennis Hannigan, aged 20, who arrived in New York in 1812 2
Catherine Hannigan, who settled in New York State in 1846
William Hannigan, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1855 2
Daniel, Dennis, James, John, Michael and Thomas Hannigan, who settled in Philadelphia between 1848 and 1878

Hannigan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Hannigan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Thomas Hannigan, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1833
Matthew Hannigan, aged 30, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Breeze" from Dublin, Ireland
Catherine Carney Hannigan, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1836
Mr. James Hannigan who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Herald" departing 20th May 1847 from Dublin, Ireland; the ship arrived on 26th June 1847 but he died on board 3
Mr. James Hannigan, aged 70 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Sesostris" departing 14th May 1847 from Londonderry, Ireland; the ship arrived on 24th June 1847 but he died on board 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Hannigan (post 1700) +

Patrick Hannigan (b. 1982), American soccer player
Ed Hannigan, American comic book writer and artist
Alyson Hannigan (b. 1974), American actress
Ben Hannigan (1943-2021), Irish footballer who played as an inside forward
Emma Hannigan (1972-2018), Irish author and blogger who is best known for writing about her experience of suffering from cancer
James Hannigan (1928-1994), Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church
Joseph Hannigan (1904-1944), Irish politician and doctor
Lisa Hannigan (b. 1981), Irish singer and songwriter
Raymond "Ray" James Hannigan (b. 1927), Canadian former professional NHL ice hockey right winger
Teresa Hannigan, Canadian film editor
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"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. 79)