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

Callihan, 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 Callihan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Callihan in America

Callihan is the 10320th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Callihan surname appeared 3,122 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Callihan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Callihan 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 Callihan

The surname Callihan is believed to have originated in Ireland, possibly as early as the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Gaelic words "calla" meaning "strife" or "war" and "an" meaning "one who," suggesting that the name may have referred to a warrior or someone who was involved in conflicts.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a historical chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The name appears in an entry from the year 1202, which mentions a "Domhnall Ó Callagháin" who was involved in a battle between Irish clans.

In the 14th century, the name Callihan was also found in various legal documents and land records in counties such as Tipperary and Cork, indicating that the family had established roots in these regions of southern Ireland.

The earliest known bearer of the name was Seán Ó Callagháin, who lived in the late 15th century and was a member of a prominent Irish clan. He is mentioned in the Book of Howth, a genealogical manuscript from the late 15th century, which records him as the chief of his family at the time.

Another notable figure was Tadhg Ó Callagháin, born in 1620, who was a renowned Irish poet and scholar. He was known for his compositions in the Irish language and his expertise in the ancient laws and customs of Ireland.

In the 18th century, the name Callihan began to appear more frequently in records of Irish immigrants to North America, particularly in the United States and Canada. One such individual was Patrick Callihan, who was born in County Cork in 1745 and later settled in Pennsylvania.

Another prominent bearer of the name was Michael Callihan, born in 1810 in County Tipperary. He was a successful businessman and landowner in Ireland before emigrating to Australia in the mid-19th century, where he became involved in the development of the city of Melbourne.

As the Callihan family spread throughout the English-speaking world, variations in spelling emerged, such as Callaghan, Calahan, and Callinan. However, the original Irish form of Ó Callagháin remained in use among some branches of the family.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Callihan

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!