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Position:Home>Genealogy> Where does the surname McKagan originate?Question: Where does the surname McKagan originate?Does anyone know? Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: As Shirley indicates above, the apparent origin of a surname is by no means an appropriate way to determine the origin of your ancestors, for a wide variety of reasons. It is always best to trace the steps back one generation at a time. You wouldn't believe how much you can find for free (I'm a poor genealogist myself), and I would highly recommend checking out www.usgenweb.com, www.cyndislist.com, and www.rootsweb.com to see what ya can find for free. There are plenty of awesome people out there that donate records, etc. to these free sites. You should also try your local library (main branch usually). That being said, the LIKELY origin of the McKagan surname is Ireland, as "Mc" was the Irish prefix for "son of," and most early census and immigration records I've come across with that name indicate Irish origin. Some of these Irish did, indeed, come to the U.S. through England, some even living there for a short time. Life in both Ireland and Scottish was rather harsh (at least for the native Irish and Scottish), and many would move to England or Wales (and often anglicanized their names to appear more English, removing the "Mc" or "Mac"). Of these folks, many eventually realized making a new life in America was much more in their favor and moved on. Others never intended to stay in England very long but had to deal with relatively long port delays. It should be noted that while in England, or even in America, those who chose not to anglicanize their names still suffered inadvertant misspellings throughout records....Mc's (Ireland) were often listed as Mac's (Scotland) and vice versa....and there were a few people in Scotland and of Scottish origin with the name MacKagan. Some Scottish also moved to Ireland, where the "Mac" would often become "Mc." Irregardless of how long someone (or even some generations) may have lived in England or elsewhere, the Mc and Mac prefixes denote Irish and Scottish ancestry (respectively). By tracing your lineage back, you may paint a better picture of whether or not your family lived in England for some time, or whether the Scottish MacKagan became McKagan in Ireland, England, or early America, or whether your surname is, indeed, Irish. Or, of course, some other bizarre twist may show up....One of my ancestors was a Scotch-Irish outlaw who assumed a Welsh alias....only by accident did I figure out that mystery.... Hope this helps! =) |