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

Colgan, 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 Colgan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Colgan in America

Colgan is the 8965th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Colgan surname appeared 3,651 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 Colgan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Colgan 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 Colgan

The surname Colgan originated in Ireland and is derived from the Irish Gaelic name "O'Colgan" or "Ua Colgan". It is an anglicized form of the old Irish personal name "Colgan", which means "young descendant" or "young offspring".

The Colgan name has its roots in County Sligo, Ireland, where it was first found in the baronies of Carbury and Dromahaire. The name is also associated with County Donegal in Ulster, where several prominent families bearing the name resided.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Colgan name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a "Colgan Ua Maelsechlainn" in the year 1022. Additionally, the name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, another important medieval Irish text, in reference to a "Colgan Ua Clerigh" in 1196.

In the 16th century, the Colgan surname was well-established in County Sligo, with several notable bearers of the name. One such example is John Colgan (c. 1592-1658), an Irish Franciscan friar, historian, and hagiographer, who was born in Sligo and is known for his work on the lives of Irish saints.

Another prominent figure with the Colgan surname was Theobald Colgan (1630-1684), an Irish Franciscan friar and author. He was born in Donegal and wrote extensively on Irish history and literature.

In the 17th century, the Colgan name was also found in the Chancery Inquisitions for County Donegal, which were legal records documenting land ownership and inheritance. This suggests that the Colgan family had established landholdings in the region during that time.

The Colgan name has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Colganstown in County Meath and Colganstown in County Kildare, indicating the historical presence of the family in these areas.

Other notable individuals with the Colgan surname include Sir John Colgan (1728-1805), an Irish politician and landowner from County Sligo, and John Colgan (1879-1957), an Irish journalist and writer who was born in County Donegal.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Colgan

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

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

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

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