Hi Jennifer,

There’s a name that I read in a book that I like: Donnigan. It sounds Irish, but I wasn’t sure, and I was also hoping you might be able to help find the meaning as well.

Thanks,
Kara

Hi Kara,
You’re right, Donnigan is an Irish name…a surname (last name), actually. There are many variations on the name which was originally spelled Ó Donnagáin, including Donegan, Donnegan, Doneghan, Donneghan, Donagan, Donnagan, Donnaghan, Dunegan, Dunnegan, O’Donegan, O’Dunnegan, O’Donnaghan, Dongan, Donegin, Donnegin, Donnagen, Donagen, Donnegen, Donegen, Donnigan, Donigan, Dunigan, Dunnigan, Dongane, Dongan, Dongen, Dungan, and many more!

It basically means “From the family of the brown one” used for people with darker hair or skin tone. Thank you for submitting the name Donnigan, we have added it to the site!

Sincerely,

Jennifer

Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.

Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.