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

Cogan, 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 Cogan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cogan in America

Cogan is the 9006th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cogan surname appeared 3,631 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 Cogan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cogan 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 Cogan

The surname COGAN is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic "Ó Cógáin" meaning "descendant of Cógán." The name Cógán is believed to have originated from the Old Irish word "cóc," meaning "cook" or "victor." The surname is thought to have emerged in the late 12th or early 13th century in County Cork, Ireland.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The annals mention a Cógán, son of Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair, who was killed in 1181. This suggests that the name was already in use by that time.

In the 14th century, the COGAN surname appeared in various records, including the Pipe Rolls of County Cork from 1307, where a Patrick COGAN is mentioned. The name is also found in the Fiants of Henry VIII, a collection of records from the reign of Henry VIII, where a John COGAN is referenced in 1536.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the COGAN family held lands in County Cork, particularly in the areas of Bandon and Mallow. Notable figures from this period include Myles COGAN (c. 1590-1640), a landowner and member of the Irish Parliament, and Richard COGAN (c. 1630-1687), a lawyer and judge.

In the 18th century, John COGAN (1711-1787) was a renowned Irish writer and philosopher, best known for his work "The Philosophical Treatise on the Passions." Another prominent individual was Thomas COGAN (1736-1818), a physician and writer who published several works on health and medicine.

Moving into the 19th century, William COGAN (1809-1892) was an Irish-born Australian politician who served as the Premier of New South Wales. In the United States, Thomas COGAN (1856-1927) was a notable labor leader and politician from Missouri.

Throughout its history, the COGAN surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Coganstown and Coganvillage in County Cork, Ireland. These place names likely originated from the COGAN family's landholdings in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cogan

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

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

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

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