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

Carnahan, 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 Carnahan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Carnahan in America

Carnahan is the 4769th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Carnahan surname appeared 7,424 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 Carnahan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Carnahan 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 Carnahan

The surname Carnahan is believed to have originated in Ireland, where it was derived from the Gaelic words "carn" and "áth," meaning "cairn" (a man-made stack of stones) and "ford" or "river crossing," respectively. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person who lived near a cairn and a river crossing.

The earliest recorded instances of the Carnahan surname can be traced back to the 16th century in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is likely that the name was initially anglicized from its Gaelic roots during this period, resulting in various spellings such as Carnahan, Carnaghan, and Carnaghyn.

In the 17th century, the name appears in the Fiants of the Reign of Elizabeth, a collection of official records from the Irish Court of Chancery. Entries from this period mention individuals with the surname Carnahan residing in County Antrim and surrounding areas.

One notable individual bearing the Carnahan surname was John Carnahan (1629-1698), a Presbyterian minister and one of the first settlers in the Bann Valley region of County Londonderry, Ireland. He is credited with establishing several churches in the area and played a significant role in the religious life of the community.

During the 18th century, many Carnahans emigrated from Ireland to North America, particularly to the American colonies and regions of present-day Canada. One such individual was James Carnahan (1751-1832), a soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Pennsylvania.

In the 19th century, the Carnahan surname gained further prominence with individuals like Robert Carnahan (1801-1868), an American lawyer and politician who served as a judge in Ohio and as a member of the United States Congress.

Another notable figure was William Carnahan (1820-1890), a Scottish-born American Presbyterian minister and educator who served as the president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) from 1868 to 1883.

Throughout history, the Carnahan surname has been associated with various professions, including clergy, military, law, and education, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and contributions of those who have borne this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Carnahan

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

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

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

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