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

Coan, 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 Coan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Coan in America

Coan is the 10596th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Coan surname appeared 3,024 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 Coan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Coan 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 Coan

The surname Coan has its origins in Ireland, traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Gaelic word "cuan," meaning "harbor" or "haven." This suggests that the name likely originated from a prominent location near a harbor or a coastal area in Ireland.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Coan name can be found in the Irish Annals, which document historical events in Ireland. The Annals mention a family called "Ua Cuain" in the 12th century, which is thought to be an early form of the Coan surname.

During the medieval period, the name Coan was prevalent in the counties of Cork and Kerry, particularly in the areas around the towns of Clonakilty and Bantry. It is possible that the name was associated with these coastal regions due to their proximity to harbors and the significance of maritime activities.

The Coan surname also appears in various historical records, including the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, which were administrative documents issued by the English monarchs during their reign over Ireland. These records mention individuals with the surname Coan, indicating their presence in Ireland during the 16th and 17th centuries.

One notable individual with the Coan surname was Sir Patrick Coan, a prominent lawyer and judge who lived in the late 16th century. He served as Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas and played a significant role in the legal system during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Another historical figure was Thomas Coan, born in 1801 in County Cork, Ireland. He was a renowned mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. Coan served as the Director of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland from 1858 until his death in 1877.

In the 19th century, John Coan was a distinguished American missionary who spent over four decades in Hawaii, working to establish churches and schools on the islands. He was born in 1809 in Connecticut and arrived in Hawaii in 1835, where he dedicated his life to spreading Christianity and education.

The Coan surname also has connections to place names in Ireland. For example, there is a townland called Coanshingane in County Cork, which may have derived its name from the Coan family or vice versa.

Throughout history, the Coan surname has been spelled in various ways, including Cowan, Cowen, Cowane, and Coyn, reflecting regional variations and the evolution of language over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Coan

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

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

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

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