2000
#5,440
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,883
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.18
Rare Last name
Callaghan
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Ceallacháin," meaning "descendant of Ceallachán," a personal name meaning "bright-headed."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,900 Americans carry the last name Callaghan. That puts it at #5,576 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.01 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,675 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Callaghan surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Callaghan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.9K
1 in 49,675
Census rank
#5,576
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,017 bearers of the surname Callaghan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.01 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5576th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Callaghan, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Callaghan
The surname Callaghan has its roots in Ireland, originating from the Irish Gaelic O'Callaghan or O'Ceallacháin. It is derived from the Irish words "ceall" meaning church and "achadh" meaning field, thus translating to "church settler" or "dweller by the church". The name is believed to have emerged in the 10th century, primarily in the areas of County Cork and County Kerry.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, where it mentions the death of Donnchadh Ó Callagháin in 1242. The name also appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a seminal work of medieval Irish literature, which documents the exploits of various Callaghan families in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The surname has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including O'Callaghan, Callaghan, Calahan, and Callahan. These variations can be attributed to the anglicization of the name as well as regional differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
Notable individuals with the surname Callaghan include:
1. Jeremiah Callaghan (1745-1820), an Irish-American merchant and politician who served as Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina.
2. Sir Ralph Callaghan (c. 1835-1904), a British naval officer who commanded the Royal Navy's Pacific Station during the late 19th century.
3. James Callaghan (1912-2005), a British Labour politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979.
4. Morley Callaghan (1903-1990), a Canadian novelist and literary figure known for his works depicting life in Toronto's working-class neighborhoods.
5. James Callaghan (1912-2005), a British Labour politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979.
The Callaghan name has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Callaghan's Cross in County Cork and Callaghan's Bridge in County Kerry, further solidifying its historical ties to the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Callaghan
Among Census respondents with the surname Callaghan, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Callaghan bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Callaghan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 5,494
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 230
- Two or more races3.1% · 187
- Black or African American0.9% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Callaghan
Callaghan appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,614
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,191
+308 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 2.10
Rank movement Down 174 places
2020
#5,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,017
-174 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 2.01
Rank movement Up 38 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,440 | 5,883 | 2.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,614 | 6,191 | 2.10 | +308 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 174 places |
| 2020 | #5,576 | 6,017 | 2.01 | -174 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 38 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Callaghan surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,614 | #5,576 | 0.7% |
| Count | 6,191 | 6,017 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.10 | 2.01 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Callaghan bearers went from 6,191 to 6,017 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 38 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,614 to #5,576.
FAQ
Callaghan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Callaghan?
Name Census estimates that about 6,900 living Americans carry the surname Callaghan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,675 residents.
How common is Callaghan?
Callaghan ranks #5,576 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.01 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,017 people with the surname Callaghan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,900), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.01 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.01 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Callaghan.
Has Callaghan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Callaghan went from 6,191 recorded bearers to 6,017. That is a decrease of 174 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,614 to #5,576.
What does the Census say about the background of Callaghan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Callaghan, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Callaghan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (5,494 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Callaghan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (3.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Callaghan (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Callaghan mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Ceallacháin," meaning "descendant of Ceallachán," a personal name meaning "bright-headed." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Callaghan (2.01 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Callaghan?
If you just want to know how common the surname Callaghan is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.