2000
#11,310
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,563
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Dunnigan
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "O'Duinnegain," meaning "descendant of Duinnegan" (a personal name of unknown meaning).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,775 Americans carry the last name Dunnigan. That puts it at #12,280 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 123,515 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Dunnigan surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Dunnigan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 123,515
Census rank
#12,280
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,420 bearers of the surname Dunnigan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12280th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Dunnigan, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Dunnigan
The surname Dunnigan originated in Ireland and is derived from the Gaelic personal name "Donngán," which means "brown" or "dark-skinned." It is believed to have first appeared in the 12th century in County Tyrone, located in the northern part of Ireland.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. One notable reference is from the year 1182, which mentions a "Donngán Ua Dalaigh," who was a chieftain of the Dál Araidhe, a powerful dynasty in Ulster.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Dunnigan was particularly prevalent in Counties Tyrone and Donegal, where it was often anglicized as "Donnegan" or "Dunegan." It is believed that the modern spelling of "Dunnigan" emerged later, perhaps as a result of pronunciation variations or scribal errors.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Cornelius Dunnigan, a Catholic priest who lived in County Tyrone in the late 16th century. He was a prominent figure during the tumultuous period of the Plantation of Ulster, when large areas of land were confiscated from Irish Catholics and granted to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland.
Another notable figure was Sir John Dunnigan (1585-1658), a wealthy landowner and member of the Irish Parliament who supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. He fought alongside King Charles I's forces and was eventually captured by the Parliamentarians in 1644.
In the 18th century, the name Dunnigan was closely associated with the town of Dungannon, County Tyrone, which was once known as "Dunnigan's Town." This connection likely stems from a prominent local family or landowner who played a significant role in the town's development.
During the Great Famine of the 1840s, many Irish families, including those with the surname Dunnigan, emigrated to other parts of the world, particularly the United States, Canada, and Australia. This diaspora helped to spread the name to new regions and establish it as a recognizable surname in various countries.
Other notable individuals with the surname Dunnigan include John Dunnigan (1834-1915), an Irish-American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota, and James Dunnigan (1933-2022), an American author and military analyst known for his work on military simulations and wargaming.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dunnigan
Among Census respondents with the surname Dunnigan, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Dunnigan bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Dunnigan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.2% · 1,747
- Black or African American20.3% · 491
- Two or more races3.8% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Dunnigan
Dunnigan appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,786
+223 bearers (+8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 17 places
2020
#12,280
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,420
-366 bearers (-13.1%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 953 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,310 | 2,563 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,327 | 2,786 | 0.94 | +223 bearers (+8.7%) | Down 17 places |
| 2020 | #12,280 | 2,420 | 0.81 | -366 bearers (-13.1%) | Down 953 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Dunnigan surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,327 | #12,280 | -8.4% |
| Count | 2,786 | 2,420 | -13.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.81 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Dunnigan bearers went from 2,786 to 2,420 (-13.1% change). The surname moved down 953 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,327 to #12,280.
FAQ
Dunnigan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Dunnigan?
Name Census estimates that about 2,775 living Americans carry the surname Dunnigan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 123,515 residents.
How common is Dunnigan?
Dunnigan ranks #12,280 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,420 people with the surname Dunnigan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,775), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Dunnigan.
Has Dunnigan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Dunnigan went from 2,786 recorded bearers to 2,420. That is a decrease of 366 (-13.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,327 to #12,280.
What does the Census say about the background of Dunnigan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Dunnigan, the largest self-reported group is White at 72.2%. The next largest groups are Black (20.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Dunnigan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.2% (1,747 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Dunnigan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (72.2%), Black (20.3%), Two or More Races (3.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Dunnigan (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Dunnigan mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "O'Duinnegain," meaning "descendant of Duinnegan" (a personal name of unknown meaning). The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Dunnigan (0.81 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Dunnigan?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.