The family name Reagan, and its cognates Regan, O'Regan, O Regan, O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to originate in ancient Gaelic from ri "sovereign, king" and the diminutive -in, "the king's child", transliterating as "little king"[1]
The feminine forename Regan is likely to have derived sometime later from the English royal name Regina.[2]
Notable people with the surname include:
- Jimmy Reagan (1891–1975), American boxer who won the World Bantamweight Championship.
- Ronald Reagan (1911–2004), 40th president of the United States
- Nancy Reagan (1921–2016), wife of Ronald Reagan and First Lady from 1981 to 1989
- Maureen Reagan (1941–2001), President Reagan's daughter from his first marriage to Jane Wyman
- Michael Reagan (born 1945), President Reagan's adopted son and radio talk show host
- Patricia Ann Reagan (born 1952), better known as Patti Davis, Ronald and Nancy Reagan's daughter
- Ron Reagan (born 1958), President Reagan's son and journalist
- Frank Reagan (1919–1972), American football player
- John Henninger Reagan (1818–1905), Confederate politician
- Johnny Reagan (1926–2018), American college baseball coach
- Lisa Reagan, American singer
- Marc Reagan, NASA Station Training Lead and NEEMO underwater program Mission Director
- Michael Joseph Reagan (born 1954), American judge
- Michele Reagan (born 1969), Secretary of State of Arizona
- Ron Reagan (Florida politician) (born 1954), American politician
References
edit- ^ "Meaning of Reagan". Archived from the original on 1 September 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ "History of the Irish name Reagan". Ireland Calling.