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

Cullinan, 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 Cullinan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cullinan in America

Cullinan is the 13306th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cullinan surname appeared 2,292 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 Cullinan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cullinan 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 Cullinan

The surname Cullinan originates from Ireland, where it first appeared in the 9th century. It is derived from the Gaelic words "cuil" meaning "angle" or "corner" and "Iomhain" meaning "a meadow." The name likely referred to someone who lived in a meadow or lived near a particular landmark.

The Cullinan surname is found predominantly in County Mayo, where it is considered a principal family name. The earliest recorded example of the name appears in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient Irish chronicle, in the year 845 AD, referring to a person named Culén mac Ailello.

In the 12th century, the surname is mentioned in the Book of Leinster, an important medieval Irish manuscript. The spelling "Cuillenayn" is used to refer to a family residing in the townland of Coolera, County Mayo.

Notable individuals with the surname Cullinan include Sir Thomas Cullinan (1564-1624), an Irish soldier and landowner who fought for the English crown during the Nine Years' War in Ireland. Another prominent figure was James Cullinan (1792-1879), an Irish engineer and inventor who devised a system for drilling artesian wells.

Perhaps the most famous bearer of the name was Thomas Cullinan (1838-1905), the South African mining magnate who discovered the Cullinan Diamond in 1905, the largest rough diamond ever found. This remarkable gem was eventually cut into several smaller diamonds, including the Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa, which are part of the British Crown Jewels.

Other historical figures with the Cullinan surname include Michael Cullinan (1862-1940), an Irish politician and Member of Parliament, and Patrick Cullinan (1880-1960), an Irish Jesuit priest and scholar who specialized in Celtic studies.

While the Cullinan name has Irish roots, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through emigration to countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cullinan

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cullinan, 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!