Show ContentsO'Duigenan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of O'Duigenan

What does the name O'Duigenan mean?

The ancient Gaelic form of the Irish name O'Duigenan 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 O'Duigenan family

The surname O'Duigenan 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 O'Duigenan family

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

O'Duigenan Spelling Variations

Numerous spelling variations were revealed in the search for the origin of the name O'Duigenan family name. Before widespread literacy, a person entrusted the proper documentation of his name to the individual scribe. As a result, a name was often recorded under several different variations during the life of its bearer. Variations found include Dugan, Duggan, O'Duggan, Dougan, Douggan, Dewgan, Deugan and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Duigenan family

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

Migration of the O'Duigenan family

Often leaving from racial discrimination and colonial oppression, thousands of families left Ireland in the 19th century for North America aboard passenger ships. Many early immigrants found a plot of land to call their own, something unimaginable for most Irish families. Those that arrived later were often accommodated as laborers since there was a large demand for cheap labor. This was the fate for many of the families that arrived in North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Whether they became agrarian settlers or industrial workers, the Irish that came to North America were invaluable for rapid development of the infant nations of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name O'Duigenan or a variant listed above: 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.


Contemporary Notables of the name O'Duigenan (post 1700) +

  • Duffy O'Duigenan, historian


  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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