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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Irish : Anglicized form of a Gaelic name, probably Mac Ciaragáin ‘descendant of Ciaragán’, a personal name based on a diminutive of ciar ‘black’, ‘dark’ (see Kerrigan), but erroneously identified with cíor ‘comb’. However, the Irish evidence is for Ó Ciaragáin, not Mac Ciaragáin, so the Mac prefix is surprising.

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