|
Jordan is an English name, but very few Irish Jordans
are of English descent. Mac Surtain was a surname
of the Gaelic type adopted by one of the Hibernicized families which
acquired extensive properties after the Norman invasion of 1172. It
signifies descendents of Jordan; i.e. Jordan d' Exeter, and this sept for which it was in effect, became in the 16th century,
the "wild Irish". In the "Annals of Connacht",
in which the name appears frequently between the years 1336 and 1470, the
name is spelt MacSiurtan. This origin was by no
means forgotten because one of them who was killed in 1422, is described by
the annalist as "the strongest hand and bravest heart of all the d'Exeters" of his time. In the English language,
they are usually called MacJordan in Mayo, while
in Clare, where they were also settled, they are called MacShurtan,
Macshurdane and MacShurton
etc. Nowadays, the form used is always Jordan (pronounced Jer-dun).
|
