Wogan

Recorded as Ogan and Wogan, this is a famous surname. Of Old English and Welsh pre 7th century origins, and derived from the personal name 'Gwagan, as a surname it is regarded as English,Irish and Welsh. It is first recorded in the county of Cumberland, England, in 1292 when John Wagan appears in the charters known as 'Placita de quo warranto', and later in Yorkshire in 1297 when John Wougan, who could possibly be the same person, appears in the Ministers Accounts of the earldom of Cornwall. Although far from Cornwall, the earldom held lands throughout the kingdom, as does the Duchy of Cornwall in the 20th century. In Ireland the name is first recorded in 1317 during the reign of the famous King Henry V (1314 - 1322). This was Thomas Wogan, the son of Sir John Wogan, the former Chief Justice. Thomas Wogan held estates in County Kildare, whilst a later descendant Richard Wogan, was Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer from 1441 to 1446. In the 17th century and particularly during the English Civil War of 1640 - 1660, the English Wogans supported Parliament, whilst the Irish Wogan's were most definately for King Charles 1st. It is claimed that at the battle of Naseby in 1642 a Colonel Wogan saved the king's life, only for Thomas Wogan, given as being the Member of Parliament for Cardigan in Wales, to be one of the signatories or 'regicides' on the death warrant dated January 26th 1648. He later pleaded that he was compelled to sign, and escaped his own execution at the time of the Restoration in 1660.