Frequency: (6754)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Irish: 1. Gaelicized version of a surname of Norman origin, from the personal name Pagan meaning ‘rustic’. 2. in some cases it is a reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Fágáin or Ó Faodhagáin, which are probably dialect forms of Ó hÓgáin (see Hogan, Hagan) and Ó hAodhagáin (see Hagan). Irish lenited f (spelled fh) is soundless, and a number of words beginning with vowels have gained an initial f in some dialects; such seems to be the case here. 3. occasionally an Anglicized form of Mac Phaidín (see McFadden) or Ó Fiacháin (see Feehan).
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
