Galliher last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Galliher

An occupational surname referring to someone who made galligaskins (loose hose or trousers worn in the 16th century).

Galliher, 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 Galliher surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Galliher in America

Galliher is the 20364th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Galliher surname appeared 1,305 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 Galliher.

We can also compare 2010 data for Galliher 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 20364 19272 5.51%
Count 1,305 1,301 0.31%
Proportion per 100k 0.44 0.48 -8.70%

The history of the last name Galliher

The surname Galliher is believed to have originated in the Scottish Highlands during the medieval period. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the Gaelic name Gallagher, which means "ardent messenger" or "bright valorous one." The name may have evolved from the Gaelic words "gall" meaning "stranger" or "foreigner" and "giolla" meaning "servant" or "lad."

In the 16th century, the Galliher name was found in various records across the Scottish Highlands, particularly in the regions of Argyll and Donegal. It is possible that the name was derived from a place name, as many surnames were based on the locations where families resided.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Galliher surname can be found in the Scottish National Records from the year 1589, which mentions a John Galliher from the Isle of Islay.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the Galliher surname. In the 17th century, Robert Galliher (1625-1698) was a prominent Scottish Presbyterian minister who played a significant role in the Covenanter movement.

During the 18th century, James Galliher (1736-1805) was a Scottish-born American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War, serving under General George Washington.

In the 19th century, William Galliher (1829-1892) was an Irish-born American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Davenport, Iowa, from 1881 to 1883.

Another notable figure was Mary Galliher (1860-1942), an American educator and suffragist who advocated for women's rights and played a crucial role in establishing educational institutions in the state of Ohio.

In the 20th century, John Galliher (1920-2004) was an American sociologist and author who made significant contributions to the study of deviance and social control.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Galliher

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

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 Galliher was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 93.79% 1,224
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.15% 15
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.76% 23
Hispanic Origin 2.38% 31

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 Galliher has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 93.79% 95.70% -2.02%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 1.15% 1.00% 13.95%
Two or More Races 1.76% 1.23% 35.45%
Hispanic 2.38% 1.08% 75.14%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Galliher last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/galliher-surname-popularity/.

"Galliher last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/galliher-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Galliher last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/galliher-surname-popularity/.

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