The Doogan Family Name

Doogan is best understood together with Duggan: both are Irish spellings of one family name. Its meaning, shared with Duggan, is “Descendant of Dubhagán ("little dark one")”.

Spelling and variants

Records show Doogan as one of the forms Duggan took over time. Spellings drifted because names were written down by ear in parish books, tax rolls and passenger lists. The same family of names includes Dugan and O'Duggan.

Doogan coat of arms

Arms linked to Duggan and its spellings were granted to individual families; our heraldry team traces which line they belonged to.

Want more than a summary? See the Doogan family name pack.