Morgan is a surname of Welsh origin.

Origins and variants

Principally a Welsh name, Morgan is derived from the Old Welsh personal name Morcant, which is of an uncertain origin. In Wales, Morgan was a 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, Lord of Tredegar). It is possible the name was derived 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 Morgan Princes of South Wales. The term for water sprites in Welsh is morgans. In Ireland, Morgan is an anglicised form of Irish Gaelic Ó Muireagáin meaning 'descendant of Muireagán', a clan who were lords of Teffia in County Westmeath and County Longford. Clan Morgan is the designation for the Mackays of the Reay Country and the surname is also found in Aberdeenshire. The Pictish form is Morgunn.

Distribution

At the time of the British Census of 1881, 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.

List people with the surname

Fictional characters