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Dugan History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Dugan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of Dugan

What does the name Dugan mean?

The ancient Gaelic form of the Irish name Dugan was Ó Dubhaigan, Anglicized O'Dugan, Dugan, Duggan and Doogan. "Dubhagan means a 'dark featured small-sized man." 1 They are the hereditary Chiefs of Fermoy and descend directly from Fergus Mor (Fergus MacRoy), King of Ulster. 1

Early Origins of the Dugan family

The surname Dugan 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. 2

Early History of the Dugan family

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

Dugan Spelling Variations

Pronunciation, rather than spelling, was what guided scribes and church officials in recording names, a practice that often led to the misleading result of one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname Dugan are preserved in documents that were examined for evidence of the family's history. The various spellings of Dugan included Dugan, Duggan, O'Duggan, Dougan, Douggan, Dewgan, Deugan and many more.

Early Notables of the Dugan family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

Joseph Hickey Duganne (1823-1884), American poet and story writer

Dugan Ranking

In the United States, the name Dugan is the 1,705^th most popular surname with an estimated 17,409 people with that name. 3

Dugan migration to the United States +

In the 18th and 19th centuries, hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants landed on North American shores. Although many of them were merely looking for a free plot of land and living of their very own, many later immigrants were desperately fleeing an overcrowded land that did not have sufficient food for its inhabitants. The exodus from Ireland was greatest during the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine had stricken the island. Although this large influx of Irish was unpopular with the great majority of people already established within the major centers, these Irish were critical to the speedy development of the United States and those colonies that would eventually become known as Canada. These immigrants provided the cheap labor required to build modern roads, bridges, canals, and railways. Research of passenger and immigration lists has shown a number of immigrants to North America baring the name of Dugan:

Dugan Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Dugan who settled in New York State in 1775
Neal Dugan, who landed in America in 1795 4
Neil Dugan, who arrived in America in 1795 4
Thomas Dugan, who landed in America in 1795 4
William Dugan, who landed in New York in 1798 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dugan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Edward Dugan, aged 21, who arrived in America in 1821 4
Edward Dugan, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1821
John Dugan, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 4
Michael Dugan, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 4
J Dugan, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dugan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dugan Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Henry Duker U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 5
Mr. John DugenBerry U.E. who settled in Ernest Town [Ernestown], Ontario c. 1786 5

Dugan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

John Dugan, aged 12, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the brig "Dorcas Savage" from Belfast, Ireland
John Dugan, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1843

Dugan migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Dugan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Michael Dugan, (Duggan, Dongan, Carduggan), Irish convict who was convicted in Armagh, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Boyd" on 10th March 1809, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. James Dugan, (Williamson), Scottish convict who was convicted in Glasgow, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "David Lyon" on 29th April 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. Patrick Dugan, British convict who was convicted in Corfu, Greece for 7 years, transported aboard the "Fairlie" on 9th Mary 1852, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 8
Thomas Dugan, aged 22, who arrived in South Australia in 1852 aboard the ship "Surge" 9
Margaret Dugan, aged 21, a farm servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1852 aboard the ship "Epaminondas" 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dugan migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Dugan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. John G Dugan, (b. 1837), aged 37, Scottish farm labourer, from Roxburgh travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Oamaru" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 17th February 1875 11
Catherine Dugan, aged 23, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1876

Contemporary Notables of the name Dugan (post 1700) +

James P. Dugan (1929-2021), American lawyer and politician in the Democratic Party who served in the New Jersey State Senate and as chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee
Alan Dugan (1923-2003), American poet awarded the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Jeff Dugan (b. 1981), American NFL football player with the Minnesota Vikings
Raymond Smith Dugan (1878-1940), American astronomer, textbook author and professor at Princeton University
Joseph Anthony "Joe" Dugan (1897-1982), American Major League Baseball player (1917 to 1931)
Dennis Dugan (b. 1946), American actor and film director
Tom Dugan (1889-1955), Irish film actor
Michael Dugan (b. 1937), American U.S. Air Force General, Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force (1990)
Darcy Ezekiel Dugan (1920-1991), infamous Australian bank robber
Major General Sir Winston Joseph Dugan (1877-1951), British administrator who served as Governor of South Australia

Citations +

O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
"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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Boyd
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd June 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/david-lyon
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 26th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
South Australian Register Tuesday 3 February 1852. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SURGE 1852. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/surge1852.shtml
South Australian Register Tuesday 3 February 1852. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) EPAMINONDAS 1852. Retrieved www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/epaminondas1852.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html