Caragan last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Caragan

A surname of Irish origin derived from the Irish word "carragán" meaning a small rock.

Caragan, 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 Caragan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Caragan in America

Caragan is the 99378th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Caragan surname appeared 182 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 Caragan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Caragan 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 99378 105905 -6.36%
Count 182 156 15.38%
Proportion per 100k 0.06 0.06 0.00%

The history of the last name Caragan

The surname Caragan is of Spanish origin and is believed to have originated in the region of Catalonia, Spain, during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Catalan word "caragol," which means "snail" or "spiral." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a place where snails were abundant or perhaps someone who worked with snails or spiral-shaped objects.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Caragan dates back to the 15th century in a document from the archives of the city of Barcelona. This document mentions a certain Pedro Caragan, who was a merchant involved in the trade of spices and silk along the Mediterranean coast.

In the 16th century, the Caragan family is said to have been among the noble families of Catalonia, with records indicating that a Juan Caragan was a landowner and prominent figure in the city of Girona around 1530.

During the Spanish colonial era, some members of the Caragan family are believed to have traveled to the Americas, particularly to areas that are now part of Mexico and Colombia. In the late 17th century, a Francisco Caragan is mentioned in historical records as one of the early Spanish settlers in the region of Veracruz, Mexico, where he established a successful agricultural enterprise.

In the 18th century, a notable figure with the surname Caragan was María Caragan, a renowned artist from Barcelona who was known for her intricate and detailed paintings of still life scenes. Her works are now housed in several museums across Spain and Europe.

Another prominent individual with the surname Caragan was Javier Caragan, a Spanish military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded multiple honors for his bravery and leadership during the Battle of Vitoria in 1813.

As the name spread throughout the Spanish-speaking world, it also gained variants and different spellings, such as Caragán, Caragán, and Caragán, reflecting the linguistic diversity of different regions.

While the surname Caragan is not among the most common in Spain or Latin America today, it continues to be a part of the rich cultural heritage and history of the Spanish-speaking world, carrying the echoes of its medieval origins and the stories of those who bore it through the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Caragan

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

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 Caragan was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 6.04% 11
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 86.26% 157
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 3.30% 6
Hispanic Origin 4.40% 8

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 Caragan has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 6.04% 9.62% -45.72%
Black 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 86.26% 83.33% 3.46%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 3.30% 5.13% -43.42%
Hispanic 4.40% (S)% (S)%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Caragan last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/caragan-surname-popularity/.

"Caragan last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/caragan-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Caragan last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/caragan-surname-popularity/.

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