Morgan (surname)


Morgan is a surname of Welsh origin.

Origins and variants

The Welsh surname is derived from the Old Welsh personal name "Morcant", which is of an uncertain origin. The surname "Morgan" traces its origin from the powerful Welsh family established c. 1330 by Morgan ap Llewelyn, and is of Welsh origin, meaning either "great kingdom" or "great hundred". It is a popular family name in Wales, as well as there being a group of "Morgan"s from "Morgund". It is possible that the name was Celtic 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 Princes of South Wales named "Morgan", a group, part of which developed into the name Leyshon. The term for water sprites in Welsh is morgans.
At the time of the British Census of 1881, the frequency of the surname "Morgan" was highest in Brecknockshire, followed by Monmouthshire, Glamorgan, Carmarthenshire, Radnorshire, Montgomeryshire, Cardiganshire, Pembrokeshire, Herefordshire, and Shropshire.

People with the surname