Morgan (surname)
morgan |
Family name |
Region of origin |
Wales, Ireland, Scotland |
Language(s) of origin |
Welsh |
Related names |
Morganach, Ó Muireagáin |
The surname Morgan has several different British origins. The Welsh surname is derived from the Old Welsh personal name Morcant, which is of an uncertain origin. The Irish surname is an amalgamation of this Welsh surname, which was brought to Ireland in the Middle Ages, and several Gaelic surnames, most notably Ó Muireagáin. The Scottish surname is of an uncertain origin. It may, however, be derived from a Gaelic cognate of the Welsh Morcant already mentioned.[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 "great kingdom" or "great hundred". 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.[2]
At the time of the British Census of 1881 [1], the frequency of the surname Morgan was highest in Brecknockshire (over 16 times the national average), followed by Monmouthshire, Glamorgan, Carmarthenshire, Radnorshire, Montgomeryshire, Cardiganshire, Pembrokeshire, Herefordshire and Shropshire.
Notable Morgans
- Adam Morgan (born 1981), Australian footballer
- Alex Morgan (born 1989), American women's soccer player
- Andrew Price Morgan, American botanist
- Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales from 2003
- Colin Morgan, Northern Irish actor, star of television series Merlin
- C. Lloyd Morgan, British psychologist known by "Morgan's Canon"
- Dale Morgan, American historian of the American west
- Dan Morgan, American football player
- Daniel Morgan, brigadier general in the Continental Army in the American Revolution
- David Morgan (disambiguation), several people
- Debelah Morgan, American singer
- Dermot Morgan, Irish actor best known as Father Ted
- Dexter Morgan, fictional serial killer
- Ed Morgan (professor), Canadian professor
- Edgar Morgan (disambiguation), multiple people
- Elaine Morgan (writer), Welsh writer, advocate of the aquatic ape hypothesis
- Eoin Morgan, Irish cricketer
- Frank Morgan, American actor
- Frederick E. Morgan, British lieutenant-general in the Second World War
- Garrett A. Morgan, African American inventor
- George Morgan (disambiguation), several people
- Gladys Morgan, Welsh comedienne
- Harry Morgan (1915–2011), American actor best known for his role in the TV series M*A*S*H
- Henry Morgan, seventeenth century Welsh buccaneer, became English Governor of Jamaica
- Henry Morgan (comedian), American radio and television personality
- Henry Morgan (merchant), Canadian retail merchant
- Huey Morgan, American musician, founder member and guitarist of the Fun Lovin' Criminals
- Ian Morgan, English professional footballer
- Isabel Morgan (marr. Mountain), American virologist at Johns Hopkins, daughter of Thomas Hunt Morgan
- Ivor Morgan, Welsh international rugby union player
- Jacques de Morgan, French geologist, archeologist and discoverer of the Hammurabi Code
- Jedediah Morgan (1774-1826), New York politician
- Jim Morgan, Australian rugby league footballer
- Jimmy Morgan, English footballer and Royal Marines Commando
- Joe Morgan (born 1930), American baseball player and manager
- Joe Morgan (born 1943), American Hall of Fame baseball player and sportscaster
- John Morgan (disambiguation), multiple people
- Joseph Morgan (born 1981), English actor
- J. P. Morgan, American financier and banker
- J. R. Morgan, British academic and author
- Julia Morgan, American architect
- Julie Morgan, Labour MP for Cardiff North
- Junius Spencer Morgan, American banker and financier
- Justin Morgan, American horse breeder
- Katie Morgan, American pornographic actress
- Keith Morgan (judoka), Canadian judoka
- Kenneth O. Morgan, Welsh historian
- Kevin Morgan (disambiguation), multiple people
- Lewis H. Morgan (1818-1881), American politician and anthropologist
- Lionel Morgan (disambiguation), multiple people
- Lorin Morgan-Richards, Dark humor author, illustrator and composer
- Lorrie Morgan, country music singer
- Michèle Morgan, French film and television actress
- Michelle Morgan (actress), Canadian film and television actress
- Michelle Morgan (cold case), victim of lethal child abuse
- Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan, Somali warlord
- Olly Morgan, England and Gloucester Rugby Union player
- Paul Morgan (disambiguation), multiple people
- Peter Morgan, English Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and playwright
- Peter Morgan (automaker), ran the Morgan Motor Company
- Piers Morgan, British journalist and broadcaster
- Raphael Morgan (born Robert Josias Morgan, 186x/187x - 19xx), Jamaican-American priest of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and thought to be the first Black Orthodox clergyman in America
- Read Morgan, American actor
- Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales
- Richard Morgan (disambiguation), multiple people
- Richie Morgan, Welsh footballer and manager
- Robert W. Morgan, American adventurer, first man to descend the Gauley and Meadow rivers in West Virginia, founded Morgan's Canoe Livery
- Sally Morgan (artist), Australian writer and painter
- Shaun Morgan, lead singer of the band Seether
- Sheryl Morgan, sprinter
- Simon Morgan, English football (soccer) player
- Stefani Morgan, pornographic actress
- Steve Morgan (footballer), English footballer
- Ted Morgan (boxer), New Zealand boxer
- Teddy Morgan, Welsh international rugby union player
- Thomas Morgan (of Llantarnam), Welsh spy and conspirator for Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots
- Thomas E. Morgan, U.S. congressman from Pennsylvania
- Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866–1945), American geneticist
- Tom Morgan (baseball), Major League Baseball pitcher
- Tom Morgan (footballer), former football manager
- Tracy Morgan, American actor and comedian
- Trevor Morgan (actor), United States actor
- Trevor Morgan (EastEnders), character in the British soap opera EastEnders
- Wallace Morgan, World War I artist in the United States Army Art Program
- William Morgan (disambiguation), multiple people
References
- ^ A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192800507.
- ^ Tongue, Ruth L. (1970) Forgotten Folk-Tales of the English Counties Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, p. 27