O'Regan — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: O Riagain
Meaning: 'descendant of Riagan' (from rioghan, little king)
Traditional stronghold: Laois, Cork
Pronunciation: oh-REE-gan; Irish O Riagain: oh REE-a-gawn
History of the O'Regan name
O'Regan derives from O Riagain, a diminutive of ri, king, giving the sense of 'little king' as a hereditary personal name. Two separate septs of this name existed, one in County Laois within the historic territory of Laois's Gaelic lordships, and another entirely distinct branch in County Cork, meaning the surname today has two real geographic centres rather than one. Both branches held modest but persistent local standing through the medieval period before the general decline of Gaelic landholding in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. O'Regan remains found in both its original areas, Laois and the midlands, and Cork and Munster, to the present day.
Variants: Regan · O'Reagan
Famous bearers of the name
- Brendan O'Regan — Irish businessman who founded the world's first duty-free shop at Shannon Airport and developed Bunratty Folk Park
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murphy · O'Sullivan · McCarthy · Moore · Daly · Dunne · Collins · Flynn