Flanagan
Ó Flannagáin · descendant of Flannagán
Flanagan is Ó Flannagáin in Irish, said oh FLAN-a-gawn, and means descendant of Flannagán.
From flann, red, so the little red one, usually of hair. The Roscommon family were stewards to the O’Connor kings of Connacht.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Flannagáin
- His daughter: Ní Fhlannagáin
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Fhlannagáin
- The family together: Uí Fhlannagáin
Where it comes from
Roscommon, Fermanagh and Offaly
Also spelt
Flanagan, O’Flanagan, Flannagan
A name, not a pedigree
This is where the name came from, which is not the same as where you came from. Names were translated, anglicised, taken on by tenants and neighbours, and carried in by settlers who were no relation to the family that started them. To follow your own line, the 1901 and 1911 censuses are free and searchable, and give the county each person was born in.