Jordan — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Mac Siúrtáin
Meaning: 'son of Jordan (a crusader name from the river Jordan)'
Traditional stronghold: Mayo
Pronunciation: JOR-dan; Irish Mac Siúrtáin: mock shoor-TAW-in
History of the Jordan name
Jordan was a favourite personal name of the crusading era, given to children baptised with water brought back from the river Jordan. In Ireland the surname belongs chiefly to the descendants of Jordan d'Exeter, a thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman lord in Connacht whose family became so thoroughly Gaelicised that they took the patronymic Mac Siúrtáin, son of Jordan, and their territory in east Mayo was known as Mac Jordan's country in the barony of Gallen. The name is still strongest in Mayo and the west, though English and other families of the same surname settled independently in Leinster towns over the centuries.
Variants: Jordon · MacJordan
Famous bearers of the name
- Neil Jordan — Sligo-born film director and novelist, Oscar winner for The Crying Game.
- Eddie Jordan — Dublin entrepreneur and broadcaster who founded the Jordan Formula One team.
- Dorothea Jordan — Waterford-born actress, the most celebrated comic performer of the Georgian stage.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Walsh · Burke · Moran · Higgins · Conway · Costello · Jennings · Browne