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

Flannagan, 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 Flannagan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Flannagan in America

Flannagan is the 20157th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Flannagan surname appeared 1,324 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 Flannagan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Flannagan 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 Flannagan

The surname Flannagan has its origins in Ireland, emerging sometime during the Middle Ages. It is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Flannagáin, meaning "descendent of Flannagán." The name Flannagán itself is a diminutive of the Irish personal name Flann, derived from the word "flann," meaning "red" or "ruddy."

The Flannagans were initially concentrated in County Roscommon, where they were a prominent family in the region known as Moylurg. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century.

One notable figure was Malachy Flannagan, who served as the Bishop of Clonmacnoise from 1347 to 1359. Another early mention is of Dermot Flannagan, a 15th-century chief of the clan in Moylurg, who is recorded as having participated in various conflicts and negotiations with neighboring clans.

In the 16th century, the Flannagans were among the Irish families who faced persecution and displacement during the Plantation of Ulster, a state-sponsored colonization effort by the English Crown. Many Flannagans were forced to flee their ancestral lands, with some settling in other parts of Ireland and others seeking refuge in continental Europe.

As the name spread, it underwent various spelling variations, including Flanagan, Flannigan, and Flanagen. One notable bearer of the name was Michael Joseph Flanagan (1844-1920), an Irish priest and historian who wrote extensively on the history and language of Ireland.

Another prominent Flannagan was Thomas Flannagan (1766-1810), an Irish-born American architect and bridge builder who is best known for his work on the Potomac River bridges in Washington, D.C., and the first permanent bridge across the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.

In more recent times, the name has been carried by individuals such as John Flannagan (1895-1942), an American sculptor who created the famous relief on the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., and Conor Flannagan (1983-), an Irish professional golfer who has competed on various international tours.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Flannagan

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

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

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

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