4,845 Global HANNIGAN Family Members

HANNIGAN Family History

This unusual surname is an English form of the famous Irish surname O'Hannigan. The clan is most recorded in the counties of Tyrone, Dublin and Waterford, itself an interesting fact, as these counties are about as far apart as it is possible to be! This suggests that in ancient times the clan, which may have originated in Co. Limerick, was troublesome to the then rulers, and as was common in Ireland, if this was the case, members would be dispersed to different parts of the country. A second possible explanation is that the original nameholders were not Irish at all, since it is believed that the name does translate as the 'Son of Hann' a short form of Johann, a continental form, not found in Ireland before the 1170 Norman Invasion.