Show ContentsHeifferghan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Heifferghan

What does the name Heifferghan mean?

There are a multitude of ancient meanings and variations associated with the Irish surnames that are now common throughout the modern world. The original Gaelic form of the name Heifferghan is Ó hIfearnain.

Early Origins of the Heifferghan family

The surname Heifferghan was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár), located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Heifferghan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heifferghan research. Another 52 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1719 and 1777 are included under the topic Early Heifferghan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heifferghan Spelling Variations

Within archives, many different spelling variations exist for the surname Heifferghan. Ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in the name of the single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings that were found include Heffernan, Heffernam, O'Heffernan, O'Heffron, Hefferen, Hefferney, Heffernon, Hefferon and many more.

Early Notables of the Heifferghan family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Paul Hiffernan (1719-1777), Irish miscellaneous writer, born in or near Dublin in 1719. "His parents, intending him for the priesthood of the Roman Catholic church, sent him to a classical school in Dublin. When very young he went with...
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Heifferghan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Heifferghan family

Irish families fled the English-colonized Ireland in record numbers during the 19th century for North America. Many of those destitute families died from disease during, and even shortly after, the long journey. Although those that immigrated before the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s often were granted a tract of land, those that arrived later were generally accommodated in urban centers or in work camps. Those in the urban centers would labor in the manufacturing sector, whereas those in work camps would to build critical infrastructures such as bridges, canals, roads, and railways. Regardless of when these Irish immigrants came to North America, they were critical for the rapid development of the young nations of the United States and Canada. Early immigration and passenger lists have recorded many early immigrants bearing the name of Heifferghan: Patrick Hefferen settled in Alexandria Virginia in 1817; Bridget Hefferin settled in Pennsylvania in 1773; Edmund, Edward, John, Michael, Thomas and William Heffernan arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.



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