Morgan (surname)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Morgan
Gender: Unisexual
Origin: Welsh
Meaning: "Water sprite"

Morgan is both a given name and a surname, as well as the name of many places. The word is an anglicized form of the traditional Welsh name, Morcant. Morcant was a traditional boys given name in Wales, but Morgan is used only for girls.[1] The surname Morgan traces its origin from the powerful Welsh family established c. 1330 by Morgan ap Llewelyn, (son of Llewelyn ap Ifor, Lord of St. Clere, and Angharad, daughter and heiress of Sir Morgan ap Maredudd (Meredith), Lord of Tredegar) and is of Welsh origin, meaning either "borne from the sea" or "great circle".[citation needed] It is a popular family name in Wales, as well as there being a group of Morgans from "Morgund". It is possible that the name was Celtic from the Cornovii Tribe who lived in the North of Scotland and in the Severn Valley near the Wrekin in Shropshire. The County of Glamorgan is named after the Princes of South Wales named Morgan, a group, part of which developed into the name Leyshon. The term for water sprites in Welsh is morgans.

Contents

The Morgan Society[2] was formed in 1994 to help Morgans trace their history, genealogy and emigration. Many Welsh families emigrated to Australia, Canada and the USA, thus many founding families in those countries carried the surname Morgan, which is reflected in a number of place names. The name "Morgen" is also prevalent in Germany and France deriving from the German for the amount of land that could be ploughed in a morning. Morgon wine is produced in the Beaujolais region of France. Morgan le Fay is the half-sister of King Arthur.

[edit] Notable Morgans

[edit] References cited

  1. ^ Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, Oxford Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1, p.198 and 432.
  2. ^ Morgan Family History Society HOME PAGE
WP Anthroponymy notice This page or section lists people with the surname Morgan. If an internal link for a specific person referred you to this page, you may wish to add the given name(s) to that link.