Oddities of an unusual name

Faughnan is a relatively rare name, but, more interestingly, it seems to have a relatively recent origin in County Leitrim region of Ireland.

So two randomly selected Faughnans have a higher than average degree of relatedness.

Which is why I got a kick of out of searching the NYT archive on my last name (Gordon is my middle name) and finding entries like this one ...

faughnan - NYTimes.com Search

... John J. Faughnan, 67 years old, pastor of t. Rosalia's Catholic Church of Pittsburgh and a former resident here, died last night in Pittsburgh, according t ... Feb 28, 1936...

and

TROTH ANNOUNCED OF MISS FAUGHNAN; Napanoch Girl, an Alumna of ...
Announcement has been made of the engagement of Miss Kathleen Faughnan of the Hotel St. Andrew, ... Miss Faughnan has made her home with her uncle and aunt, ...August 15, 1937

Somewhere all the stories meet ...