This most interesting name may have derived from two possible origins. Firstly, it may be a dialectal variant of Cogan, which is of Welsh locational origin from a place called Cotgan in Llandaff near Cardiff. This place derived its name from the Welsh word for "bowl" or "depression". The name may also be the Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "MacCogadhain", composed of the Gaelic prefix "Mac", son of, and the Gaelic personal name "Cuchogaidh", meaning "hound of war". The name is also found in Ireland as Cogan, Coggan, Coggen, Cogin, Coggon, Coogan and Goggin(s). The first recording of the name is in the late 12th Century (see below), and other early recordings include: William de Cogan, who appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Glamorgan in 1185, and John de Cogan, who was recorded in the Somerset Hundred Rolls in 1273. Recordings of the surname from London Church Registers include: the christening of Jane Coggins on July 3rd 1616, at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, and the marriage of Robert Coggon and Elizabeth Frye at St. Mary Mounthaw, on August 15th 1622. Sara Coggin, aged 20 yrs., embarked from London for Virginia aboard the "Assurance" in July 1616; she was one of the earliest namebearers to settle in the New World Colonies. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Milo de Cogan, which was dated 1171, in "Records of County Cork", Ireland, during the reign of Rory O'Conor, last native High King of Ireland, 1166 - 1175. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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