Last name: Morgan
‘This is a truly famous surname whose Gaelic-Celtic ancestry pre-dates Christianity. Originally, the name was purely personal and spelt as "Morcant", the change to Morgan being medieval. The exact meaning is uncertain but "sea chief" or "sea defender" are the generally accepted interpretations. The importance of the name is shown by its incorporation in the ancient Welsh kingdom of Glamorgan, a corrupt form of "Ap Morgan", the son of Morgan. The first true recording as a surname is however English (see below). In Wales the first recording may be Thomas Morgaine, Knight of Monmouth, in 1538, whilst in Scotland, one John Morgane was a burgess of Glasgow in 1419. In Ireland the name is popular in Leinster and Ulster, and in some cases is an Anglicization of Merrigan and Morahan, the first recording being that of Edward Morgane, of Dublin, on April 26th 1654. Not only does the name indicate a sea warrior, it is with the sea that the Morgan name has won most renown. Amongst these famous people was Sir Henry Morgan, Governor of Jamaica and the epitome of the privateering buccaneer of the 17th Century. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Morgan, which was dated 1214, in the "Curia Regis Rolls of Berkshire", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling’
FROM: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/morgan#ixzz2WDFYfUL1
‘The surname Morgan has several different 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]’
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_(surname)
