Oakan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Scotland
• Ireland

Family Crest Image (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Among the the peoples of ancient Scotland, the first to use the name Oakan were the Strathclyde- Britons. Oakan was a name for someone who lived in Lanarkshire.

Early Origins of the Oakan family

The surname Oakan was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow, where they originated in the old barony of Akyne. Some of the first records of the name were Atkyn de Barr in 1340 ^[1] and later in 1405, "John of Akyne, a Scottish merchant petitioned for the return of his ship and goods illegally seized in England." ^[2] The name and all it's variants are double diminutives of Adam, formed from 'Ad,' the diminutive of Adam + 'kin' ^[2]

Early History of the Oakan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Oakan research. Another 183 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1405, 1482, 1497, 1520, 1744, 1773, 1613, 1687, 1676, 1680, 1687, 1613, 1654, 1613, 1642 and 1676 are included under the topic Early Oakan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Oakan Spelling Variations

Medieval Scottish names are rife with spelling variations. This is due to the fact that scribes in that era spelled according to the sound of words, rather than any set of rules. Oakan has been spelled Aitken, Aiken, Atkin, Atkins and others.

Early Notables of the Oakan family (pre 1700)

Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Oakan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Oakan family to Ireland

Some of the Oakan family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 173 words (12 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Oakan family

Many Scots were left with few options other than to leave their homeland for the colonies across the Atlantic. Some of these families fought to defend their newfound freedom in the American War of Independence. Others went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of all of these families have recently been able to rediscover their roots through Clan societies and other Scottish organizations. Among them: Ann and Daniel Aiken who settled in New York State in 1811; David, Henry and Hugh Aiken settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1868 and 1880; John Aikens settled in New Orleans La. in 1821.