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

Gahagan, 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 Gahagan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gahagan in America

Gahagan is the 16125th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gahagan surname appeared 1,795 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 Gahagan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gahagan 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 Gahagan

The surname Gahagan is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name "O'Geibheannaigh" which means "descendant of Geibheannach". The name is believed to have originated in County Donegal, Ireland, in the 12th or 13th century.

The earliest known record of the name Gahagan dates back to the 16th century, when it appeared in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The name was also found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gahagan was in the 17th century when John Gahagan, a prominent Irish landowner and soldier, was granted lands in County Tipperary by King Charles II in 1666. He later served as a Member of Parliament for Clonmel in the Irish House of Commons.

In the 18th century, Edward Gahagan (1717-1783) was a notable Irish politician and judge who served as the Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench in Ireland from 1766 to 1783.

Another notable bearer of the name was Usher Gahagan (1795-1858), an Irish poet and author who published several works, including "The Poetical Works of Usher Gahagan" in 1848.

In the 19th century, Henry Gahagan (1810-1866) was a prominent Irish-American lawyer and politician who served as the 18th Mayor of Philadelphia from 1857 to 1858.

The name Gahagan has also been associated with several place names in Ireland, such as Gahagan's Cross in County Donegal and Gahagan's Rock in County Mayo.

While the surname Gahagan has its roots in Ireland, it has since spread to other parts of the world through emigration. Some variations of the spelling include Gahagan, Gahagan, Gahaghyn, and Gahaghane.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gahagan

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

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

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

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