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

Coolahan, 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 Coolahan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Coolahan in America

Coolahan is the 115034th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Coolahan surname appeared 152 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 Coolahan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Coolahan 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 Coolahan

The surname Coolahan is believed to have originated in Ireland, where it was first found in County Kildare. It is derived from the old Irish Gaelic personal name Ó Cualáin, which means "descendant of Cualán." The name Cualán itself is thought to be derived from the word "cual," meaning "youth" or "student."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Coolahan can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a historical chronicle of medieval Irish history. In the year 1323, a man named Uidhir Ó Cualáin is mentioned as a member of the O'Byrne clan.

The Coolahan surname is also found in some historical records from the 16th and 17th centuries. For instance, a man named John Coolahan was listed as a landowner in the Fiants of the Reign of Elizabeth I, a collection of official documents from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

In the 17th century, the name appeared in various records related to the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland. A man named Patrick Coolahan is mentioned as having been involved in the rebellion.

One notable bearer of the Coolahan surname was John Coolahan (1838-1926), an Irish Catholic priest and educator who served as the second president of St. Patrick's College in Maynooth, Ireland.

Another notable figure was Michael Coolahan (1876-1952), an Irish hurler who played for the Kilkenny senior hurling team and won several All-Ireland championships in the early 20th century.

In the late 19th century, a man named James Coolahan (1856-1929) emigrated from Ireland to the United States, where he became a prominent businessman and real estate developer in New York City.

The Coolahan surname has also been found in various place names throughout Ireland, such as Coolahan Bridge in County Kilkenny and Coolahan Cross in County Meath.

Over the centuries, the spelling of the surname has varied slightly, with variations including Coolahan, Coolaghan, Coolehan, and Coolaghen being recorded in historical documents.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Coolahan

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

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

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

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