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

Galligher, 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 Galligher surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Galligher in America

Galligher is the 86314th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Galligher surname appeared 216 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 Galligher.

We can also compare 2010 data for Galligher 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 Galligher

The surname Galligher is of Irish origin, with its roots traceable to the Gaelic Ó Gallchobhair, meaning 'descendant of the foreign aid or helper'. This name is believed to have originated in the 10th or 11th century in the region of Ulster, particularly in counties such as Donegal and Tyrone.

The earliest known record of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, where it is mentioned as Ó Gallchobhair in the 12th century. The name is thought to have evolved over time, with various spellings appearing in historical documents, such as O'Gallagher, O'Gallacher, and O'Gallocher.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Shane O'Gallagher, a prominent Irish chieftain who lived in the 15th century and fought against the English during the Tudor conquest of Ireland. Another notable figure was Rory O'Gallagher, a renowned Irish blues-rock musician who was born in 1948 and passed away in 1995.

In Scotland, the name is sometimes spelled as Galbraith or Galbreath, and it is believed to have originated from the same Gaelic root. One of the earliest recorded Scottish individuals with this name was Sir William Galbraith, a Scottish knight who lived in the 13th century and was a signatory to the Ragman Rolls, a document recording the submission of Scottish nobility to Edward I of England.

The Galligher surname has also been associated with several place names in Ireland, such as Ballygallagher and Derryoghill, which are derived from the Irish Baile Uí Ghallchobhair and Doire Uí Ghallchobhair, respectively, meaning 'the town of the Gallaghers' and 'the oak grove of the Gallaghers'.

Other notable individuals with the Galligher surname include John Galligher, an Irish-American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania in the late 19th century, and Thomas Galligher, an Irish-born Australian politician who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Galligher

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

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

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

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