Hey there! I'm very new to this forum, but it looks like a good community so far (:
The reason I joined is because much of family are from Scotland and Ireland, and I'm obsessed with looking into my family clans and finding their surnames and looking into ancestry and everything.

I have quite a few famous Scottish clans to my name, as well as some Irish ones. The one which I'm currently looking into is Madigan. I've traced it all the way back to O'Madadhain, and read up already on Murchadh O'Madadhain and his line, who were Irish Chiefs of Síol Anmchadha back in the 1300's-1400's!

I've found that Madigan translates to "little dog", and that apparently O'Madadhain means "Descendant of the Son Of The Hound". I've looked and searched for who the "Son of The Hound" is, but I suppose it was probably just a personal name which was passed on. Or, it could perhaps relate to Cú Chulainn. Any answers or suggestions on that would be greatly appreciated too!

Anyway! Back to the point. I'm really looking for a breakdown of the name Madadhain. I know that the "O" is the descendant from part, but I'm looking for what exactly "Madadhain" means and which parts mean which?

I'm guessing the "Madadh" is the dog part, as it is literally the word for dog/hound (if I'm not mistaken), so that leaves me wondering what the "ain" part is?

I'd really appreciate any and all help on this, I've literally scraped the barrel on Google to try to find it, but I haven't been able to.

Thank you so much! Sorry for so much info!

There are some alternative versions of the name: Ó Madadháin, Ó Madagáin, Ó Madáin, Ó Madaidhín, Ó Madaidh. Anglicized O'Madden.

They all mean the same: descendent of Madadhán.
Ó = descendent, grandson
Madadhán is a male name and means "little dog". The original person Madadhán was the son of Gadhar Mór, chief of the Uí Maine (Hy Many) in 11th century.
Síol Anmchadha were a branch of the Hy Many.
Madaidh is a dog, -án is a diminutive suffix meaning "little". In genitive case it changes to -áin: Ó Madadháin = lit. descendent of little dog.

Just to add to what Labhrás has told you, "madadh" (also "mada" and "madra," as well as 'gadhar") means "dog" in general, not "hound." Like most languages, Irish makes a distinction between dogs in general and specific types of dogs, such as hounds and terriers. The Irish for "hound" is "cú" (as in "Cúchuillean," as you mentioned).

Redwolf

To add a bit more to the discussion, unlike the situation in many other cultures, surnames of Gaelic origin (as opposed to names of other origins, such as Norman French surnames brought to or created in Ireland) are mostly based on the given name of an ancestor (real or legendary), a nickname, attribute or characteristic of the ancestor (the Scottish clan name Cameron, for example comes from cam-shron, or "bent nose"), or sometimes the history of the ancestor. An example of the latter is the name O'Loughlin, Ó Lochlainn meaning "descendant of the Norseman". Toponymics (names based on the name of a place) are extremely rare when it comes to names of Gaelic origin (in fact, I think I've read that there are only one or two such surname), whereas they are very common in England, and even names based on professions are much less common than in other places. MacGowan, or Mac an Ghabhann, meaning "son of the [black]smith" is one which comes to mind.

So, the son of Gadhar Mór whom Labhrás mentioned was presumably nicknamed "little dog" at some point, based on his appearance, personality, something he did, or whatever, and what later became a surname was built on that nickname

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I'm not a native (or entirely fluent) speaker, so be sure to wait for confirmations/corrections, especially for tattoos.

That is awesome information, thank you so much! So would have the Maddens and Madigans of modern day be distantly related to the Ó Madadháin's, or would members of their clan or sept have adopted the surname over time, do you think?



Ah I see, very interesting! I know that dogs were very important in traditional Celtic myth and legend, and religion, and were often said to have magical powers with their licking and tongues haha. Thanks for the info!



Yes! Very interesting indeed how they did that. I have the Campbell Scottish clan in my family and it means "wry-mouthed", so I imagine the first person to have that name had a very crooked smile hahaha.


Thank you all for such great information, the literal translation of the name helps me A LOT. I'm actually considering changing my current surname to Madadhain, since my relatives/ancestors who carried the Madigan name are pretty important to me and I'd like to feel closer to them. Would Madadhain stand as its own surname, without the O?
And also... How is it pronounced?

I've been saying it like "Mad-ah-hain" but I'm sure that's probably incorrect!

I don't know. I'm really no expert in Irish genealogy.
Some links (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923: Irish Names and Surnames)
http://www.libraryireland.com/names/om/o-madain.php
http://www.libraryireland.com/names/om/o-madagain.php
http://www.libraryireland.com/names/om/o-madaidhin.php

"And if he lacks both Ó and Mac
no Irishman is he!"

Angicized versions may be without O' (Madigan, Madden) but Irish versions without Ó (or Ní, Uí) are impossible.
male persons:
Ó Madadháin /oh-mah-duh-ghaw(i)n/
Ó Madagáin /oh-mah-duh-gaw(i)n/
female person's maiden name:
Ní Mhadadháin /nee -wah-duh-ghaw(i)n/
Ní Mhadagáin /nee -wah-duh-gaw(i)n/
married woman (a wife of an Ó Madadháin/Ó Madagáin):
Uí Mhadadháin /ee-wah-duh-ghaw(i)n/
Uí Mhadagáin /ee-wah-duh-gaw(i)n/

hmm, interesting. So it's pronounced much like Madigan anyway. And I didn't know that about the non-Anglicised versions. Could it still work as a stand alone word, if it still means "little dog", and then be used as a name?

As a first name, sure (not sure what I'd think if I were a little girl and learned that my name meant "little dog" though!). As a surname it needs the Ó/Ní/Uí.

Redwolf

Hey, thanks for the reply and the info. Is there any particular reason why it couldn't stand as its own word and then be used as a surname without the O? I mean, if it's a word which means "Little Dog", can it not simply be taken as that word and then implicated as a new last name? Just a tad confused as to why it wouldn't work, that's all!

Not as an Irish name. They are patronymics...they indicate ancestry. "Madagán" (that's the root form. It's in the genitive case in surnames) is someone's first name or nick name. The Ó indicates a descendant of that ancestor.

Redwolf