MacGahan and McGahan are
Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
surnames. They are
Anglicised forms of the
Irish language
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 ...
''
Mac Eacháin'', meaning "son of ''Eachán''". The
personal name ''Eachán'' is a
diminutive of the personal name ''Eachaidh'', which is based upon the
Gaelic ''each'', meaning "
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
".
[ which cited for the surname "McGahan".]
People surnamed McGahan or MacGahan
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Andrew McGahan (1966–2019), Australian novelist
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Anna McGahan
Anna McGahan (born 2 May 1988) is an Australian actress and playwright, who has appeared in Australian television, film and theatre.
She is best known for playing the roles of Nellie Cameron in the Australian television series, '' Underbelly: ...
(born 1988), Australian actress and playwright
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Bronwyn McGahan (born 1972), Irish Sinn Féin politician
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(born 1961), New Zealand rugby league footballer
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Jamie McGahan (born 1959), Scottish cyclist
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Matt McGahan
Matthew McGahan (born 21 April 1993) is an Australian born rugby union player of Irish descent. His father played professional rugby league in New Zealand. Matt plays in the fly-half (and occasionally inside centre) position for The Ricoh Black ...
(born 1993), New Zealand rugby union footballer
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Januarius MacGahan (1844–1878), American journalist and war correspondent
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Paul McGahan (born 1964), New Zealand rugby union footballer
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Thomas McGahan (1845–1932), Australian politician
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Tony McGahan, (born 1972), Australian rugby union coach
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Walter G. McGahan (1902–1981), New York politician
References
{{surname, McGahan
Anglicised Irish-language surnames
Patronymic surnames