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

Bragan, 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 Bragan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bragan in America

Bragan is the 52851st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bragan surname appeared 392 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Bragan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bragan 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 Bragan

The surname BRAGAN has its origins in Ireland, dating back to the early medieval period around the 7th century AD. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic term "breaghan," which means "mountain ridge" or "high ground." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive one, referring to families or individuals who resided in hilly or mountainous regions.

The earliest known references to the name can be traced back to ancient Irish manuscripts and genealogical records. One notable mention appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. This text documents a clan known as the Uí Bhragáin, who were prominent landowners in the province of Connacht during the 10th and 11th centuries.

In the 12th century, the name BRAGAN appears in the Annals of Ulster, a collection of historical records from the Ulster region of Ireland. This document mentions a man named Gilla-Críst Ua Bragáin, who served as the Abbot of Clonmacnoise, a renowned monastic settlement in County Offaly.

During the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the late 12th century, the BRAGAN surname gained prominence among the Gaelic nobility who resisted the Norman conquest. One notable figure was Ruaidrí Ua Bragáin, a chieftain who led the resistance against the Anglo-Norman forces in the province of Munster in the early 13th century.

In the 14th century, the name BRAGAN is recorded in the Annals of Loch Cé, a historical record from County Roscommon. This text mentions a man named Maol Muire Ó Bragáin, who served as the Bishop of Ardagh in the mid-1300s.

Another notable figure bearing the BRAGAN surname was Seán Ó Bragáin, a renowned Irish poet and scholar who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was renowned for his contributions to the preservation of Irish language and literature during a period of cultural suppression.

Throughout the centuries, the BRAGAN surname has seen various spellings and variations, including Braghan, Braghain, Bragaun, and Braggon, reflecting the linguistic and orthographic changes over time. Despite its Irish origins, the name has also been found in other parts of the British Isles, likely due to migration and settlement patterns.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bragan

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

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 Bragan 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 Bragan 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 Bragan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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