FLANNIGAN Family History

This surname with variant spellings Flannagan, Flanaghan, Falnagan, etc., is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic O' Flannagain, the prefix "O" meaning "descendant of" plus the personal name "Flannagan", a diminutive of the Gaelic element "flann" meaning "red(dish), ruddy". The main sept of the surname is found in Connacht, and Flannigan is numbered among the hundred most widespread surnames in Ireland, taking sixty-ninth place on that list. They sprang from one Flanagan who was of the same stock as the Royal O' Connors, and his line held the hereditary post of steward to the Kings of Connacht.