Maughan
Usually a variant of Irish Mahon, though in some cases it may be from Cornish Mawgan.
The #9,319 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 88,364 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually treated as an Anglicized form of Irish Mahon, itself from Gaelic names such as Ó Mathghamhna or related forms that were rendered in many spellings by English scribes. Some surname dictionaries also connect Maughan with Cornish Mawgan, a place-name found in Cornwall and likely linked to a saint’s name. Because the spelling was fluid, the same family name could develop from more than one source.
History
Irish Maughans are found in records alongside Mahon and other Anglicized Gaelic forms, especially in areas where English clerks regularized Irish names in different ways. English-language surname books also note a Cornish source from Mawgan, which means the name may be locational in some families. The form is uncommon today, but it survives in both Irish and British family lines.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century surname books often listed Maughan under both Irish and Cornish headings, a good reminder that one spelling can hide several origins.
From the historical record
“O.H.Ger. g4r, a spear] MAUGHAN = Mahon, q.v. MAUL \ I Bel. to Maule (Seine-et-Oise) MAULE[ 2 for Ma?/, a dim. of Matilda, also MAULL ' of Mary : v. Malkin. 3 poss. also representing the A.-Sax. male pers. name Moll: v. MolJ. MAUND, meton. for Maunder<, q.v. MAUNDER (Eng.) Maker of Maunds (Bas- kets) [O.E. mand, a…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)