Recorded in several forms including Mangan, Mangham, Mingane, Mungham, and Mongan, this is an Irish surname. It derives from the pre 15th century Gaelic O' Mongain, and is now usually found recorded as Mangan. There are three quite separate branches of the clan found in counties Donegal, Limerick and Tyrone. The exact translation of the surname is believed to be "the son of the descendants of the hairy One ", from the ancient word mongach. This word was used to describe people with a full beard, which may have referred to a holy man, but probably more likely given the "fighting times" in which the surname was created, probably referred to their frightening and wild appearance! The name has been well recorded in England since the 18th century, with examples such as Mary Manghan who married Alexander Crighton at St. Lukes church, Chelsea, on January 11th 1723, John Manghan christened at St. Martins in the Field on October 4th 1765, whilst Patrick Mungham sailed on the ship "Waterloo of Liverpool" bound for New York on June 1st 1846, at the height of the Irish Potato Famine. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Simon Mangham. This was dated 1715, when he was a witness at St. Mary Whitechapel, in the city of London, during the reign of King George Ist of Engfland, 1715 - 1727. 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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