Gaelic sept & Welsh

Vaughan

Ó Mocháin / Vaughan

“Welsh fychan, 'small' — adopted for Ó Mocháin”

The sept's historic heartland, highlighted. People moved — a name can be found far from home.

The story

Welsh settlers and disguised Ó English-pressure Mocháins share the name; the Clare Vaughans kept Burren farms through every confiscation — smallness, as the name suggests, had its uses.

Their world Around 1650 — Confederate Ireland & Cromwell. The rising of 1641 turns into eleven years of war, fought four ways: Confederate Catholics, English royalists, English parliamentarians, and a Scots army in Ulster.

See them on the atlas ↗

What the name is made of

Ó Mocháin
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
Mocháin — the ancestor, trade or place the name is built on
Vaughan
No prefix: the name stands on its own word.

Find this form in the Irish-to-English index → · What Ó and Mac actually mean

Is Vaughan an Irish name?

Vaughan has two separate origins. A Gaelic sept and an incoming family ended up with the same English spelling, and they are not related — which one you belong to is a question the surname cannot answer, only the records can.

The five answers, and why it is rarely yes or no →

From Wikipedia — “Vaughan (surname)”

Vaughan and Vaughn are surnames, originally Welsh, though also used as a form of the Irish surname McMahon. Vaughan derives from the Welsh word bychan, meaning "small", and so corresponds to the English name Little and the Breton cognate Bihan. The word mutates to Fychan, an identifier for a younger sibling or next of kin.

Read the full article ↗ · Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Ahern · Clare Barrett · Mayo Blake · Mayo Brogan · Mayo Burke · Mayo Carey · Mayo Carty · Clare Clancy · Clare Colgan · Clare Conneely · Mayo Considine · Clare Cooney · Clare Costello · Mayo Coyne · Mayo

Quick answers

Is Vaughan an Irish name?

What does the surname Vaughan mean?

Vaughan (Irish: Ó Mocháin / Vaughan) means “Welsh fychan, 'small' — adopted for Ó Mocháin”. Origin: Gaelic sept & Welsh.

Where in Ireland is the surname Vaughan from?

The historic homeland of the Vaughan name is Clare, Mayo. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for Vaughan?

Ó Mocháin / Vaughan.

Looking for the Vaughan family crest? Read this first — arms belong to people, not surnames, and the honest version is more interesting. Tracing Vaughan ancestors? The step-by-step guide.

Not your spelling? Try the full A–Z. Know more about the Vaughan name? Add to the story.