Show ContentsMangham History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

All Irish surnames have a unique and often romantic meaning. The name Mangham originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Mongain, which is derived from the word mongach, which means hairy. 1

Early Origins of the Mangham family

The surname Mangham was first found in Connacht (Irish: Connachta, (land of the) descendants of Conn), where they held a family seat and styled as one of the Irish Clanns who were descendants of King Niall of the Nine Hostages. They were descended through Eochy Moyvane, to Niall Mor, his son, the great Niall of the Nine Hostages. Descended was O'Mongain the great chief of the Mangans whose territories included branches in Mayo, Connacht, Cork and Limerick.

Early History of the Mangham family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mangham research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1772, 1803 and 1852 are included under the topic Early Mangham History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mangham Spelling Variations

Numerous spelling variations of the surname Mangham exist. A partial explanation for these variants is that 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 Ó Mongain (Gaelic), Mangan, Mongan, Mongin, Mungan, Mungen, Mongun, O'Mongan, O'Mongin, O'Mungen, O'Mongun, O'Mongun, O'Mangan and many more.

Early Notables of the Mangham family

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

Migration of the Mangham family

Irish families began to immigrate to British North America and the United States in the 18th century, but the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. The earlier settlers came to North America after a great deal of consideration and by paying relatively high fees for their passage. These settlers were primarily drawn by the promise of land. Those later settlers that came during the 1840's were trying to escape the conditions of poverty, starvation, disease, and death that had stricken Ireland. Due to the enormity of their numbers and the late date of their arrival, these immigrants primarily became hired laborers instead of homesteading settlers like their predecessors. An exhaustive search of immigration and passenger lists has revealed many Irish immigrants North America bearing the name Mangham: John, Mary and Judy Mangan who arrived in New York State in 1853; Francis, Henry, James, John, Michael, Patrick, Thomas, and William Mangan, all arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1826 and 1868.


Contemporary Notables of the name Mangham (post 1700) +

  • Randal Mangham, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Georgia, 2008 2


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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