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

Creagan, 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 Creagan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Creagan in America

Creagan is the 69170th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Creagan surname appeared 284 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 Creagan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Creagan 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 Creagan

The surname Creagan is of Scottish origin, originating from the Gaelic word creag, meaning "rock" or "crag." It is believed to have first emerged in the 13th century in the Scottish Highlands, particularly in areas such as Argyll and Perthshire.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in historical documents from the 14th century, including the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, which mention individuals with the surname Creagan or similar spellings like Cregan or Creygan. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and differences in pronunciation.

One notable early example is John Cregan, a landowner in Argyll who was granted a charter for lands in the year 1365. Another historical figure is Duncan Creagan, a renowned archer who fought alongside Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century.

The surname Creagan is also closely associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Creagan Beag and Creagan Mor, which translate to "little rock" and "big rock," respectively. These place names further reinforce the connection between the surname and the rugged, rocky landscapes of the Scottish Highlands.

In the 16th century, the name appears in the records of the Clan Macnab, a Scottish clan based in the Perthshire region. Notable members include Finlay Creagan, a chieftain of the clan in the late 1500s, and Iain Creagan, a celebrated warrior who fought against the English in the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547.

As the centuries passed, the Creagan surname spread to other parts of Scotland and beyond. In the 18th century, a notable figure was Robert Creagan, a Scottish poet and playwright born in Argyll in 1723. His works, including the play "The Gentle Shepherd," celebrated the beauty of the Scottish Highlands and its people.

Other notable individuals with the surname Creagan include James Creagan, a Scottish-born soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Virginia, and Mary Creagan, a renowned educator and advocate for women's rights in the late 19th century, who was born in Glasgow in 1849.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Creagan

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!