Origin of the Name Fagan
The
Fagan family history was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives.
Over the centuries Surnames developed a wide number of variants. Different spellings of the same name can be traced back to an original root. Additionally when a bearer of a name emigrated it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books at their new location. Surnames were also often altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another.
Variants of the name Fagan
include Fegan and Fagen. This name is usually of Norman origin and is derived from the Latin word 'paganus'. It was brought to Ireland during the Anglo-Norman invasion in the twelfth century and is now considered very Irish . An early record of the name occured in the year 1200 when a William Fagan was the owner of extensive property in the city of Dublin with this family becoming firmly established in neighbouring Counties in the following decades. A branch of this family was also recorded in Counties Kerry and Cork , where a Christopher Fagan took refuge in 1497. From the Kerry branch were descended the Fagans who distinguished themselves in the service of France in the eighteenth century, and were ennobled in that country. The Gaelic O'Faodhagin sept of County Louth changed their name to Fegan as well as Fagan.
The Fagan coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Fagan descendants.