Egan - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Mac Aodhagáin
Meaning: “son of little Aodh - fire”
Traditional stronghold: Tipperary, Galway
Famed hereditary lawyers (brehons).
Pronunciation: EE-gun; Irish Mac Aodhagáin: mok AY-uh-gawn
History of the Egan name
Mac Aodhagáin, 'son of little Aodh', was the greatest legal family of Gaelic Ireland. Originating in the Uí Maine territory of east Galway and Roscommon, the MacEgans became hereditary brehons, professional judges and lawyers, to ruling families across half of Ireland, and ran famous law schools, most notably at Duniry in Galway and Ballymacegan in north Tipperary. Manuscripts compiled in their circle, including the Leabhar Breac, are among the treasures of medieval Irish learning. When the brehon law system was destroyed in the 17th century the family's scholars turned to the Church and to poetry. The name, now usually Egan without the Mac, is most common in Galway, Roscommon, Offaly and Tipperary.
Variants: MacEgan · Keegan · Eagan
Famous bearers of the name
- Boetius MacEgan - Bishop of Ross executed by Cromwellian forces in 1650 after refusing to call on Irish troops to surrender.
- Desmond Egan - Athlone-born poet whose collections have been translated into many languages.
- Kian Egan - Sligo singer, member of Westlife.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Kelly · O'Brien · Ryan · Kennedy · Lynch · Connolly · Burke · Clarke