This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Morgan' (Welsh). Latterly in the place of Ap-Morgan, the true Welsh patronymic, an English form Morgans has arisen; compare Williams for Ap-William.

Walter Morgan, Oxfordshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

'Item, Jeven to David ap Morgan: Privy Purse Exp., Princess Mary.

Morgan Gough, Close Rolls, 20 Henry VI.

1616 Baptised — John, s. Morgan Davies: St. James, Clerkenwell.

Thomas Morgan, of Chester, 1602: Wills at Chester.

"It is remarkable that the name Morgan exists, or in historic times existed in Scotland nowhere else than in Aberdeenshire and among the Sutherland Mackays" (Macbain). "Clan Morgan was long the designation of the Mackays of the Reay country, and it is probable, though perhaps not demonstrable, that there was a close connection between them and the Aberdeenshire Mergans" (Watson, Rosg Gaidhlig, p. 246). The Pictish form of the name is Morgunn, with gen. Mercunn and Morcunt. The name exists also in Old British, Old Breton, and Cornish as Morcant, Welsh Morgan, and the Morken of Jocelin's Life of Kentigem (c. xxi) is a form of it. It comes from early Celtic - mori-canto-s 'sea-bright.' The founder of the Pelagian heresy was a British monk named Morgan whose name was Graecized as Pelagius. Morgrun, comes de Mar, 1214—49 (RPSA., p. 363). Morgund, son of John Abbe, 1204—11 (RAA., I, 72) appears c. 1239 as Morgund filius Abbe, a lay abbot (Panmure, I, p. cliv). Morgund de Glenesk, of county of Forfare, rendered homage, 1296 (Bain, II, p. 199). John Morgane was burgess of Glasgow, 1419 (LCD., p. 241), and John Murgounis, one of the tenants of Wester Micras (Mecray), 1539 (ER., XVII, p. 659). James Morgound in Gay was fined for resetting Clan Gregor, 1613 (RPC., XIV, p. 636). The name still exists ir Aberaeenshire, and John Murgan was one of the Huntly Volunteers, 1798 (Will, p. 7). The Morgans appear to have spread down the East Coast as far as Fife, where the place name Ramornie (Rath Morganaich) means 'rath (of the) Morganach' (Wafson I, p. 239).

(Celtic) 1 Bright or White Sea [Welsh Morgan-mór, sea + can, white, bright; with c mutated to g] Ac y bu varw Morgan.—[And Morgan died] Brut y Tywysogion, A.D. 972.

Morgan Cam [Crooked].—Ann. Camb., A.D. 1246.

And Arthur caused Morgan Tud to be called to him. He was the chief physician.— ‘Geraint the Son of Erbin’: Mabinogion, tr. Guest.

2 Mariner [Irish Muireagán, from muir, sea] In Ireland the name Morgan also sometimes represents a previous Morogh: v. Murray.

A Welsh name. It is also used as_the anglicized form of several Irish surnames

“Sea-White” in Welsh.

(Welsh) Descendant of Morgan (great, bright).

A Welsh personal name of high antiquity. The founder of the Pelagian heresy, in the fourth century, was a true Welshman and a monk of Bangor. His name was Morgan, which signifies ' Of the Sea,' and this was correctly latinized Pelagius.

From mor-gan, by the sea.

From Mor, the sea, and gan, born; the same as Pelagius—born on the sea, from the Greek πέλαγος, the sea. Mor, the sea, and gan, by or near—near the sea, a locality.

(Welsh), By sea. (variant: Bythesea.)

From the Irish O’Muiregain; a personal name.

Morgan. —South Wales and Monmouthshire are the great homes of this name. North Wales and Herefordshire stand next in the order of its frequency. This ancient Welsh name, in comparison with some other names of the Principality, has advanced but little into England. It has obtained no footing in the north, whilst the counties of Worcester and Gloucester represent the limit of its advance into the midlands. It has, however, firmly established itself in Hampshire, and to a less extent in Somerset.

Morgan is another ancient Welsh personal name, but it has only become a permanent surname in the last three or four centuries.

The surname Morgan is extremely ancient. Though it is known to be of Celtic origin, its meaning remains uncertain. The name itself derives from a Celtic first name which was rendered as Morcant in Old Breton, Old Welsh and Cornish; and as Morgunn in Pictish. One possible meaning of the name is ‘sea-bright’, in which case it would have been a nickname referring to the appearance or personality of its original holder.

The name Morgan is most frequently found in South Wales, where it is related to the Country of Glamorgan. Here the name was originally Ap-Morgan, meaning ‘son of Morgan’, (as in Ab-Evan, ‘son of Evan’, which became Bevan). However, the name also occurs often in Scotland, where it is known to have originated from Aberdeenshire and amongst the Mackays of Sutherland. There is even a Clan Morgan in Scotland and this clan title was used by the Mackays of the Reay country.

Other origins include ancient Brittany and Cornwall as well as England, where the name gave rise to the related Morgans, which is short for Morganson.

Morgan was the name of the early British monk who travelled to Europe and started the first Christian heresy. In Europe his name was Graecised to Pelagius-hence the Pelagian heresy, which denies original sin.

The surname Morgan appears in many forms in the early records. The earliest references are to the Latinised form Morganus, which occurs in the Pipe Rolls for Gloucestershire in 1159, and also in the Pipe Rolls for Salop in 1166. However, this form was probably used only for official records. The more vernacular form of Morgund is listed in Scottish records between 1204 and 1211. In 1214 the Curia Regis Rolls for Berkshire list a John Morgan.

The most notorious pirate of the Spanish Main was Sir Henry Morgan (1635—88). For over a decade he terrorised the Caribbean. Such was his power that at one time he commanded a fleet of 36 ships, with over 2,000 buccaneers, and at one stage actually seized control of Jamaica from the Spanish as well as Cuba. He later retired and died a respected planter in Jamaica.

Whimsical fairy Morgan le Fay is variously depicted in Arthurian romance as a magical healer, mistress of Avalon and later as a malign sorceress constantly plotting the death of Arthur and dreaming up evil schemes to discredit the Knights of the Round Table. As late as the nineteenth century the famous mirages seen in the Strait of Messina were popularly believed to be Fata Morgana (the Fairy Morgan) a name still used to describe them.

A morganatic marriage is one between a male of royal birth and a woman of lesser rank, with the provision that any children resulting from the union will not inherit their father’s station or property.

Morgan horses, once the most popular breed in the US, are stylish, all-purpose steeds especially suited for riding. A horse named Justin Morgan (after its owner) was the early-nineteenth-century father of the breed with an eclectic pedigree that, among other strains, combined thoroughbreds and Arabians.

Morganite is a gem-like beryl prized for its lovely pink or rose-like colour.

Anglican clergyman William Morgan’s 1588 translation of the Bible into Welsh became the written language taught to the Welsh people for the next 200 years and thus standardised the language.

The United Kingdom has one name-related town, Morgan’s Vale. Australia has a Morgan and a Morganville while Russia has a Morgana. In the US there are 15 name-related towns including the exotically designated Morganza. There are Morgan mountains in Australia and the US and a Morgan’s Bluff in the Bahamas as well as a Morgan’s Bay in South Africa and a Morgan Island in Antarctica.

With about 133,000 namesakes Morgan is the 37th most popular surname in England and Wales. (The name is not common enough throughout Scotland to be counted separately.) Morgan is notably popular in and around Cardiff where an estimated one in about 70 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Bristol, Coventry and Birmingham are other Morgan strongholds. Around the world Morgans are most common in Sydney (one in 821 families), Wellington (one in 893) and Auckland (one in 927). The United States has more Morgans than the entire population of Leicester-an estimated total of just under 287,000 makes this their 56th most popular surname.