Author Topic: Help: McKivigan Clan Associations  (Read 2288 times)

Offline jcritch

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Help: McKivigan Clan Associations
« on: Monday 03 August 15 20:23 BST (UK) »
Hello,

I have attended several Celtic festivals and spoken with members of Clan Associations looking for some connection between the surname McKivigan and a variation of a clan spelling. A volunteer at a Clan McKay tent thought there was a connection between McKay and McKivigan given spelling variations and such, but nothing appeared to be a solid connection. Further research into Clan McIver spellings and associated surnames has shown the closest matches, but still nothing solid. The main purpose of my research is to determine if there is a tartan associated with a spelling variation of McKivigan, so any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Offline philipsearching

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Re: Help: McKivigan Clan Associations
« Reply #1 on: Monday 03 August 15 20:58 BST (UK) »
To help us in our quest it would be useful to know where your earliest instance of the name is from.  At the moment I don't know whether Scotland or Ireland would be the better place to investigate.

All the best
Philip
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Offline jcritch

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Re: Help: McKivigan Clan Associations
« Reply #2 on: Monday 03 August 15 21:09 BST (UK) »
Philip, the first recorded instance that I have of the name is a James McKivigan of Ireland (1834-1911), who married a Caroline Ann McGinnis in Glasgow, Scotland in 1861. I have found little to no information online for the McKivigan surname, and after speaking to volunteers at Celtic and Scottish festivals, i've been led to believe that is most likely a spelling variation of another more common name. The best lead i've found is the variatons of McIver spellings, such as McIvey and McKiver.

Thank you for your response, Joshua.

Offline philipsearching

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Re: Help: McKivigan Clan Associations
« Reply #3 on: Monday 03 August 15 22:19 BST (UK) »
RootIreland surname list throws up some possibilities - but I don't know if they will lead anywhere!

McKivegehran / McKivegheran / McKivigheron
McKiveragan / McKiveraghan
McKivergin
McKiverhan
McKiverigan / McKiverighan / McKiviregan
McKivragan / McKivregan / McKivrigan
McKevagin / McKevegan
McKeveragan / McKeverigan
McKevergan / McKevergin

The number of spellings above (and there are bound to be more I didn't spot) suggests that the surname did exist but was not common enough to have significant numbers with a common spelling.  Whether or not the surname can be tied to a clan I don't know.

Good hunting!
Philip
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Offline Forfarian

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Re: Help: McKivigan Clan Associations
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 04 August 15 04:35 BST (UK) »
Nothing like MacKivigan is listed in G F Black's Surnames of Scotland so it does look as if it's an Irish rather than a Scottish surname.

The best lead i've found is the variatons of McIver spellings, such as McIvey and McKiver.

I am very sceptical about that.

MacIver and its variants, according to Black, is a mixed Gaelic and Norse name meaning 'son of Ivar'. None of its recorded variants omits the 'r' or has an additional string of letters attached.

There is a Scottish surname 'MacGavin' which means (not surprisingly) 'son of Gavin'. If McKivigan is a variant of a simpler name, surely MacGavin is a more likely base name than MacIver? Though you still have to account for the '-igan' tacked on to the end of the name.

I think the origin of the name is far more likely to lie in Ireland than in Scotland, and therefore that McKivigan is not specifically associated with any Scottish clan.

If you are looking for a tartan the place to go is https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/

Bear in mind that the clans were a social phenomenon of the Highlands, not the Lowlands, and that many common Scots surnames (Smith, Brown, Wilson, Reid, Young, Black, Clark, Watson, Wood, Jones, Gray, Johns(t)on(e), Hill, Wright etc) do not belong to any Highland clan, despite what the Brigadoon industry would have you believe.

Also that tartans as known today are largely a nineteenth-century invention.

If you want to wear tartan, just pick one you like and get on with it. There is no tartan police, and no-one will bat an eyelid if you turn up in a tartan belonging to a random clan. If you are worried about that, there are plenty of district tartans to choose from.

Never trust anything you find online (especially submitted trees and transcriptions on Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and other commercial web sites) unless it's an image of an original document - and even then be wary because errors can and do occur.

Offline gaffy

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Re: Help: McKivigan Clan Associations
« Reply #5 on: Friday 07 August 15 14:16 BST (UK) »
I'm inclined towards Irish origin and very specifically, Banbridge / Gilford / Newry area in County Down. My GG Grandfather purchased a farm from one of them in Drumaran, Tullylish in the 1800s. It may simply have morphed from another name like McGivern. 

Edward MacLysaght suggests that it may be synonymous with MacGurran, but my jury's still out.

Offline jim1

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Re: Help: McKivigan Clan Associations
« Reply #6 on: Friday 07 August 15 20:26 BST (UK) »
ScotlandsPeople don't have anybody of that name listed on any BMD that I can see.
There is 1 McKivigan family in Glasgow in 1881 born Ireland but next census they are McKirgan.
So could it be McKerrigan.
Warks:Ashford;Cadby;Clarke;Clifford;Cooke Copage;Easthope;
Edmonds;Felton;Colledge;Lutwyche;Mander(s);May;Poole;Withers.
Staffs.Edmonds;Addison;Duffield;Webb;Fisher;Archer
Salop:Easthope,Eddowes,Hoorde,Oteley,Vernon,Talbot,De Neville.
Notts.Clarke;Redfearne;Treece.
Som.May;Perriman;Cox
India Kane;Felton;Cadby
London.Haysom.
Lancs.Gay.
Worcs.Coley;Mander;Sawyer.
Kings of Wessex & Scotland
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www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Offline Elwyn Soutter

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Re: Help: McKivigan Clan Associations
« Reply #7 on: Friday 07 August 15 22:21 BST (UK) »
The main purpose of my research is to determine if there is a tartan associated with a spelling variation of McKivigan, so any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

I wouldn’t worry too much about what tartan you might be entitled to wear. There are no rules. Wear anything you like. Most of the modern tartans were invented in Victorian times, and have little or nothing to do with any of the earlier clans. (Prior to the 1745 rebellion, no clan had a unique tartan, and the only way a Highlander’s loyalty could be determined was by the cockade he wore).  Queen Victoria’s decision to use Balmoral Castle as her base in Scotland encouraged huge numbers of people to visit and there was then a supporting industry of people inventing tartans right, left and centre. An industry which continues unabated to this day.

For further reading, see Hugh Trevor-Roper on “The Invention of Scotland” where he gives a good account of tartan nonsense in a chapter entitled “The sartorial myth.” Or I can probably send you a copy, if you are really interested. (If so, send me a pm with your e-mail address).
Elwyn