Egan is a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

that comes from the

Irish Gaelic Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was the ...

name

Mac Aodhagáin Mac Aodhagáin (English: ''Egan'' or ''Keegan''), is an Irish Gaelic clan of Brehons who were hereditary lawyers - firstly to the Ó Conchobhair Kings of Connacht, and later to the Burkes of Clanricarde. The earliest surviving Irish law manusc ...

. It is derived from the root 'aedh' meaning little fire and the diminutive 'an' hence 'the little bright-eyed one'. Variations include: Egan, Eagan, Keegan, McKeegan, MacEgan, Kegan, Keagan and Egen. The name originates from

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

(north). The Egans have been around for thousands of years and own a castle in Tipperary, Ireland, called Redwood Castle.

People with this surname

* Anthony Egan, Gaelic footballer * Alice Mary Egan (1872 – 1972), Canadian ceramic artist later known as

Alice Mary Hagen Alice Mary Hagen (born Alice Mary Egan; 1872 – January 1972) was a Canadian ceramic artist from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was trained in china painting, and earned her living through selling painted chinaware and teaching. She was among the artis ...

Chandler Egan Henry Chandler Egan (August 21, 1884 – April 5, 1936) was an American amateur golfer and golf course architect of the early 20th century. Early life and college Egan was born in Chicago, Illinois, which at the end of the 19th century was th ...

, golfer * Chris Egan (disambiguation), several people *

Connie Egan Connie Egan is a Northern Irish politician who is an Alliance Party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). She was elected as an MLA in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election for North Down. Political career Early career (2019-2022 ...

, Northern Irish politician *

Daniel Egan Daniel Egan ( – 16 October 1870) was an Australian politician who served as Mayor of Sydney in 1853. He was also a member of the New South Wales Parliament. Egan was born in Windsor, New South Wales and was a foreman at the Government Docky ...

, former mayor of Sydney, Australia *

Dennis Egan Dennis William Egan (March 3, 1947 – June 28, 2022) was an American politician who was a member of the Alaska Senate representing Juneau from April 19, 2009, until January 15, 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as t ...

(born 1947), Alaska politician * Desmond Egan (born 1936), Irish poet, publisher, and festival organizer. *

Eddie Egan Edward R. Egan (January 3, 1930 – November 4, 1995) was an American actor and former police detective. He was the subject of the nonfiction book '' The French Connection'' and its 1971 film adaptation. Life Edward R. Egan was born in Queens, ...

(1930–1995), New York police detective depicted in ''The French Connection'' *

Edward Egan Edward Michael Egan (April 2, 1932 – March 5, 2015) was an American Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut from 19 ...

(1932-2015), Roman Catholic Cardinal * Eugene Egan, Catholic apostolic vicar in Ireland *

Felim Egan Felim Egan (8 November 1952 – 19 November 2020) was an Irish painter. Biography Born in County Donegal, Egan attended St. Columb's College in Derry before studying Art in Belfast and Portsmouth and at the Slade School of Art in London. He liv ...

, painter * George W. Egan, South Dakota politician *

Ger Egan Ger Egan (born 1990/1991) is a Gaelic footballer who plays for Tyrrellspass and at senior level for the Westmeath county team. His uncle Joe Hyland was a goalkeeper for Tyrrellspass, who was part of the team that won the 1999 Westmeath Senio ...

(born 1990/1991), Westmeath Gaelic footballer *

Gerard Egan Gerard Egan (born 1930) is Professor Emeritus of Loyola University of Chicago. He later served as Professor of Organization Studies and Psychology and Programme Director for Loyola's Centre for Organization Development. The eleventh edition of ...

, psychologist *

Greg Egan Greg Egan (born 20 August 1961) is an Australian science fiction writer and amateur mathematician, best known for his works of hard science fiction. Egan has won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Hugo Award, an ...

, author * Harry Egan, English footballer * James Egan (disambiguation), several people called James or Jim *

Jennifer Egan Jennifer Egan is an American novelist and short-story writer. Egan's novel ''A Visit from the Goon Squad'' won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. As of February 28, 2018, she is the Presiden ...

, author * Joe Egan (disambiguation), several people * John Egan (disambiguation), several people *

Johnny Egan (basketball) John Francis Egan (January 31, 1939 – July 21, 2022) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played for the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Baltimore Bullets, Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and San Diego / ...

, basketball player and coach * Joseph F. Egan (c.1917–1964), New York politician *

Joseph V. Egan Joseph V. Egan (born February 27, 1938) is an American Democratic Party politician, who represents the 17th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he has served since 2002. Egan has served in the General Assembly as th ...

, New Jersey politician * Kenny Egan, boxer *

Kian Egan Kian John Francis Egan (born 29 April 1980) is an Irish Pop music, pop singer, songwriter and musician, best known as a member of pop group Westlife. Westlife has released twelve albums, embarked on thirteen world tours, and won numerous awards ...

(born 1980), singer, part of the band Westlife *

Kieran Egan (educationist) Kieran Egan (22 May 1942 – 12 May 2022) was an Irish educational philosopher and a student of the classics, anthropology, cognitive psychology, and cultural history.Theodora Polito, Educational Theory as Theory of Culture: A Vichian perspec ...

, English educator * Kieran Egan (politician), Irish politician *

Mark Egan Mark Egan (born January 14, 1951 in Brockton, Massachusetts, United States) is an American jazz bassist and trumpeter known for his membership in the Pat Metheny Group and the Gil Evans Orchestra. He is co-founder of the jazz fusion band, Elem ...

, jazz musician * Matthew Egan, Australian Rules footballer *

Maureen Egan Maureen Egan is a writer/director who has directed several music videos, including the MTV2 Award-winning "Screaming Infidelities" for Dashboard Confessional. Her parents were actors Richard Egan and Patricia Hardy. Egan is one half of a directing ...

, American writer and director of music videos and films *

Maurice Francis Egan Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...

, American writer and diplomat * Michael Egan (disambiguation), several people *

Peter Egan Peter Joseph Egan (born 28 September 1946) is a British actor and animal rights activist. He is known for his television roles, including Hogarth in '' Big Breadwinner Hog'', the future George IV of the United Kingdom in ''Prince Regent'' (197 ...

British actor *

Philip Egan Philip Anthony Egan (born 14 November 1955) is a prelate of the Catholic Church and serves as the eighth Bishop of Portsmouth. Early life Egan was born in Altrincham, a suburb of Manchester. He was educated at St Ambrose College, a boys' gra ...

(born 1955), Bishop of Portsmouth *

Pierce Egan Pierce Egan (1772–1849) was a British journalist, sportswriter, and writer on popular culture. His popular book '' Life in London'', published in 1821, was adapted into the stage play ''Tom and Jerry, or Life in London'' later that year, which ...

, journalist * Richard Egan (disambiguation), several people *

Robert Egan Robert "Bobby" Egan is an American restaurateur and an interlocutor between the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the United States. He is best known for providing public diplomacy services, political con ...

, American restaurateur * Robert J. Egan (Illinois politician), American judge and politician * Robert J. Egan (Michigan politician), American politician * Robert Shaw Egan (born 1945), American botanist and lichenologist *

Roma Egan Roma Jean Egan (born 1948) was a child actress on Australian television, and an Australian ballet dancer and teacher. She was notably a senior soloist for The Australian Ballet, and variously performed for the Queensland Ballet, Basel Ballet, B ...

, ballet dancer *

Rusty Egan Rusty Egan (born 19 September 1957 in London) is the former drummer for the British new wave band Rich Kids. They were founded by former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock (bass guitarist and backing vocals, occasional lead vocals), with Steve New (gui ...

, drummer *

Sam Egan Sam Egan is a journalist, and a screenwriter and producer for television. Career His credits include writing and producing for such shows as ''Quincy, M.E.'', ''The Incredible Hulk'', ''The Fall Guy'', ''Northern Exposure'', '' The Outer Limits ...

, journalist and producer *

Seamus Egan Seamus may refer to: * Séamus, a male first name of Gaelic origin Film and television * Seamus (''Family Guy''), a character on the television series ''Family Guy'' * Seamus, a pigeon in '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' * Seamus Mc ...

, musician *

Sean Egan Sean Egan is a software engineer at Google, where he worked on Google Talk and is currently working on Google Maps. He is the former project leader of Pidgin, a popular instant messaging client. He is also the author of the book ''Open Source ...

, computer software developer *

Susan Egan Susan Farrell Egan (born February 18, 1970) is an American actress, singer and dancer, known for her work on the Broadway stage. She is best known for originating the role of Belle in the Broadway musical adaptation of ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1 ...

, American actress *

Ted Egan Edward Joseph Egan (born 6 July 1932) is an Australian folk musician and a former public servant who served as Administrator of the Northern Territory from 2003 to 2007. Early life Egan was born in Coburg, Victoria, moving to the Northern Terr ...

, Australian folk musician and Administrator of the Northern Territory * Thomas C. Egan (1894–1961), US federal judge *

Timothy Egan Timothy P. Egan (born November 8, 1954) is an American author, journalist and op-ed columnist for ''The New York Times'', writing from a liberal perspective. Egan has written nine books. His first, ''The Good Rain'', won the Pacific Northwest B ...

, writer *

Walter Egan Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

(born 1948), American musician *

Walter Egan (golfer) Walter Eugene Egan (June 2, 1881 – September 12, 1971) was an American golfer who competed in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Egan came to prominence in his teens when he was playing at Onwentsia Club and attending University School on the nor ...

, golfer * William Egan (disambiguation), several people * Willie Egan (1933–2004), American musician

People with this surname

See also