Find out how popular the last name Bohannon is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bohannon.

Bohannon, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bohannon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bohannon in America

Bohannon is the 3677th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bohannon surname appeared 9,663 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Bohannon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bohannon to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bohannon

The surname Bohannon is believed to have originated in Ireland, specifically in the northern region of Ulster. It is thought to derive from the Gaelic personal name "O'Branagain," which means "descendant of Branagan." This name was likely anglicized over time to the more phonetic spelling of "Bohannon."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Bohannon name can be found in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, which were administrative records of royal grants and appointments in Ireland during the 16th century. In these records, there are references to individuals with the surname Bohannon or similar spellings, such as "Brannaghan" or "Brannagane."

The Bohannon surname is also associated with several place names in Ireland, particularly in County Armagh and County Monaghan. For instance, there is a townland called Bohannon in County Monaghan, which likely took its name from a prominent family bearing the surname in that area.

Among the notable individuals with the Bohannon surname throughout history are:

1. Patrick Bohannon (c. 1570-1635), an Irish Catholic priest who was martyred during the Penal Laws for his religious beliefs.
2. John Bohannon (1782-1855), an American politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee.
3. Edmund Bohannon (1845-1923), a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War and later a prominent businessman in Texas.
4. William Bohannon (1889-1956), an American baseball player who played for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox in the early 20th century.
5. Clarence "Pappy" Bohannon (1918-1997), an American jazz saxophonist and bandleader who was active in the swing era and later worked as a session musician in Los Angeles.

While the Bohannon name has its roots in Ireland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through Irish immigration to the United States, Canada, and other English-speaking countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bohannon

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bohannon.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bohannon was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bohannon has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bohannon was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bohannon, please contact us.

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