This surname is of early medieval Irish origin, and is an Anglicized form of the Old Gaelic "O'hOgartaigh", itself a variant of "O'Fogartoigh", with the aspiration of the initial "F". Traditionally, Irish family names are taken from the heads of tribes, revered elders, or some illustrious warrior, and are usually prefixed by "Mac" denoting "son of" or "O", grandson, male descendant of. The personal byname "Fogartach", in this instance, derives from "fogartha", banished, exiled, outlawed, and the surname is usually endered (O)Fogarty in English. This great sept originated in the southern part of Eile or Ely, and were of sufficient importance to give their name to the barony of Eliogarty in County Tipperary. Eliogarty is a phonetic rendering of the Gaelic "Eile ui Fhogartaigh". In the process of Anglicization, the surname has acquired a number of variant forms including: (O)Fogarty, (O)Fogerty, Foggarty, O'Hogertie, Hogerty, Hogarty, Gogarty and Gogerty, the latter two examples being "MacFhogartaigh" in Irish. Hogarty is now most widespread in Connacht, especially in Counties Galway and Roscommon. On September 28th 1865, William Hogarty and Julia Corner were married in Galway. Martin Hogarty, aged 25 yrs., who embarked from Dublin on the ship "Fagan-Bealac" bound for New York in May 1847, was a famine immigrant into that city. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of O'Fogarty, King of Ely, which was dated 1072, in the "Annals of Ulster", during the reign of High Kings of Ireland "with opposition", 1022 - 1166. 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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