Meaning and Origins of the Duggins Name
Susan Quentine Knittle-Hunteris a member and coordinator of this surname resource center.
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"Information provided by Kathleen Everett indicates the name is of Irish origin.
It appears in ancient records before the year 1100 in County Clare, Ireland."
"Information
gleaned from Debbie Hund regarding the origin of the name. Duggins is as follows:
"
"The name has been spelled Duggan, Dougan, Dugan, Dugin and Duggins. It is properly pronounced Doogan,
and so called by most northern branches of the family,
but in Georgia called Duggan (the u, as in "jug"). Both
traditions about the origin of the family say they descended from
Ireland and emigrated to America in the early 1700's. One tradition
is that they descended from the "Chieftans" of Ireland,
the other that they originated in Northern Ireland and were converted
to Christianity and became Presbyterians by faith. When the Catholic
Persecution began in Northern Ireland, The Dougans, with the rest
of the clans, were driven from their homes and for a while llived
in dens and caves, but finally they fled to Wales, where they
lived in peace but with small opportunities. Both traditions say
they came to the Carolinas and scattered all over the state. Later
records seem to confirm these traditions."
According to the research
of Pat Shell, other information indicates that Duggins ancestors" from Ireland came from County
Cork. They lived in the northern area of the Country along the
Blackwater River. The very earliest Duggins settlers to America settled the James River
region in Virginia 1607-1700.
Provided by Gail Duggins:

Gail Duggins went to Ireland for his 68th birthday. It was a gift from his daughter, Lisa.
Before going and while there, he did some research into the origins
of our Duggins family. I have devoted a page to his findings,
including maps, pictures, photographs and articles. You can also
see some of his findings and photos on the "Coat of Arms"
page and "Photographs...Descendants of David Duggins Sr."
A "MUST SEE"!!!!
Origins of our Duggins Family
(October 1, 2002) Information from a Duggins researcher indicates that the name
is English and not Irish. The name can be followed
back to Redditch in the West Midlands of England, as far back
as 1695, where the Duggins people were part of the sewing needle and
fish hook manufacturing industry which moved to that area, most
likely from London in the early to mid 1600's. It is most likely
that the south east of England is the true origin of the name.
The Duggins ancestors would have most likely had to pass through Ireland on the way
to America. "Hello, my name
is ............Duggins, I have been researching my family tree
for a number of years now. I have just come across your website
and feel that I need to point out a few misconceptions which seem
to crop up too often in the American research.
Firstly,the name is
most definetely English not related to the Irish Duggan. The name
can be followed back to Redditch in the West Midlands of England
as far back as 1695 where they were part of the sewing needle
and fish hook manufacturing industry which moved to that area,
most likely from London in the early to mid 1600's. It is most
likely that the south east of England is the true origin of the
name. Your ancesters would have most likely to have passed through
Ireland on the way to America.
Secondly, the coat of
arms that you have is for the Duggan family and does not relate
to Duggins in the slightest. Unfortunately we are lowly types
with no noble history to speak of. Regards, ..............";
January 3, 2003) There
has been some disagreement among members of the Duggins researchers, but the mystery appears to be
solved and everyone is partially correct!!!!! According to Gary
Duggins, the truth is, our line comes from Ireland, some
migrated to England and Wales and then some migrated to America.
Some stayed in England coming from Ireland. They all wanted to
get out of Ireland and away from the wars. From Gary Duggins: "I have talked
to some genealogist in England and they seem to concur that the
Duggins name was originally in Northern Ireland and the family
was chased out by war and migrated in the late 1400's south with
some crossing into Wales in the early 1500's. Neil claims to have
traced his branch to Ireland in the mid 1700's with a William
born in Cork county about 1751 that later migrated to England
again through Wales. Bottom line, we have had a lot of people
with tales but the facts all seem to support the above. With Ellick,
Wife and Jr. coming to the colonies in the early 1750's and having
three more sons and the American tree grew. I do find it curious
about Ellick Jr. disappearing I can't help but think he must have
died as an infant???? After all those were rough times and a lot
of infants died as well as older children. Look at my grandfather
Benjamin Warren Sr. they had 10 kids but only six lived to maturity.More
later and If I come up with any solid information will pass it
along.Cuz. Gary "Karen Duggins, Tacoma, WA."
(October 25, 2007) Awhile
back I received an email from a Duggins descendant from Wales.
He lives in England but he grew up in Wales and his family lives
there. He brings up another possibility of our Duggins origins: Mark Williams <markymarkmitfunkybunch@hotmail.co.uk>
wrote: "I have suddenly
become incredibly curious as to the origins of my
Grandmothers surname. Her name is Clara Williams nee Duggins and
she was born in 1912 in the village of Ynysbwl South Wales UK.
British websites have provided very little information about this
surname. What is your understanding of its origins? Do you have
any pointers as to where I could start researching on this side
of the pond? Kindest regards Mark Williams "Hello Mark,
I am so glad to meet you!!!! Thanks for writing to me. Your e-mail
holds alot of interest for me because many of us (about 50) are
trying to find out where we came from accross the Atlantic. We
have some people who believe we came from England and there are
others who believe we originated in County Cork, Ireland. It appears
that we actually began in Ireland and then moved to England during
wars. From there, Ellick came to the United States in the 1700's.
No one has really pinpointed things. I know there are many who
would like to discuss this with you.
If you would like, I will put your query on the Duggins SRC Website
and then refer you to some other people who can be of more help.
Susan" Susan, "Thanks for your reply, this internet thing is a bit difficult to get your head
around sometimes!!! I would be most grateful if you would put
something on your website but please allow me to do a little more
research first and I can then provide you with some more information.
I always thought it was an unusual name but couldn't believe how
difficult it was to find things on the net about it. I did a UK
search which yielded virtually nothing so when I widened it I
came across you.
Anyway as a result my
claim to being from 100% Welsh stock has gone but at least it's
still good Celtic stock from which I hail!! Any information you
have would help my research. My Grandmother is still alive at
94 so at least I can get some information first hand. All I really
know at present is that her family moved to South Wales from the
County of Yorkshire in Northern England to work in the local coal
mine. From where do your relatives hail??
Anyway thanks again Susan Kindest regards Mark"
"Hello Mark, Don't rule out that you are 100% Welsch stock yet. You may be
the big clue we have been looking for to understand our heritage
here in the U.S. The stories of Ireland and England, may not be
true. Maybe we do descend from Wales. No one is 100% sure at this
time.
Please stay in touch and let me know when you want me to add your
information to our Duggins Website. I am sure there are several
people who would like to be in touch with you."**I have been in
contact with Mark for quite awhile and he has not had a chance
to do much research as he has had to change jobs and move etc.
He does, however, give us something else to think about. His grandmother,
Clara Duggins Williams, was born in Wales and says her ancestors
had always been in Wales. This may be a new place to look for
information about the roots of the Duggins Family.
(Nov 23, 2007.....After
researching this line, I have discovered that Mark's direct line
migrated from Warwick, England to Wales, many of his ancestors
stayed in England. As I continue to work on this line, my guess
is that we will discover that it goes back to Ireland!! See "Photographs....Descendants
of Clara Duggins"