2000
#9,598
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.15
Rare Last name
Halligan
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "O'hAileagain," meaning "descendant of Ailleagan," a personal name of unknown meaning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,381 Americans carry the last name Halligan. That puts it at #10,401 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 101,377 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Halligan 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 Halligan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 101,377
Census rank
#10,401
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,948 bearers of the surname Halligan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10401st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Halligan, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Halligan
The surname Halligan originated in Ireland, derived from the Gaelic personal name "O'Halligan" or "O'Halogan." This name can be traced back to the 10th century and is believed to have originated in County Cork.
The name Halligan is thought to be an Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic surname "O'hAllógáin," which means "descendant of Allógán," a personal name derived from the Old Irish word "allóc," meaning "foreign" or "estranged." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived abroad or was considered an outsider in some way.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Halligan can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals mention a "Donnchadh O'Halligan" who was a distinguished Irish poet and died in 1391.
In the 16th century, during the Tudor conquest of Ireland, the Halligan family held lands in County Cork and were considered a prominent Irish sept (clan). A notable figure from this time was Dermot Halligan, who is mentioned in the manuscript "The Composition Book of Connacht" as a landowner in County Sligo in 1585.
Another notable bearer of the name was Patrick Halligan (1789-1869), an Irish Catholic priest who served as the first Bishop of Achonry from 1858 until his death. He played a significant role in promoting education and establishing schools in the Achonry diocese during his tenure.
In the late 19th century, John Halligan (1871-1945) was a prominent Irish nationalist and journalist who co-founded the Irish News, a newspaper that advocated for Irish independence from Britain.
A more recent figure was William Halligan (1927-2004), an American attorney and judge who served as a United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut from 1979 to 1992.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Halligan
Among Census respondents with the surname Halligan, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Halligan 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 Halligan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 2,683
- Two or more races3.6% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 105
- Black or African American0.8% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Halligan
Halligan 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
#10,013
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,220
+113 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 415 places
2020
#10,401
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,948
-272 bearers (-8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 388 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,598 | 3,107 | 1.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,013 | 3,220 | 1.09 | +113 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 415 places |
| 2020 | #10,401 | 2,948 | 0.99 | -272 bearers (-8.4%) | Down 388 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 Halligan 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 | #10,013 | #10,401 | -3.9% |
| Count | 3,220 | 2,948 | -8.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.09 | 0.99 | -9.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Halligan bearers went from 3,220 to 2,948 (-8.4% change). The surname moved down 388 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,013 to #10,401.
FAQ
Halligan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Halligan?
Name Census estimates that about 3,381 living Americans carry the surname Halligan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 101,377 residents.
How common is Halligan?
Halligan ranks #10,401 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.99 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 2,948 people with the surname Halligan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,381), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.99 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 Halligan.
Has Halligan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Halligan went from 3,220 recorded bearers to 2,948. That is a decrease of 272 (-8.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,013 to #10,401.
What does the Census say about the background of Halligan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Halligan, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Halligan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (2,683 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Halligan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Halligan (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 Halligan mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "O'hAileagain," meaning "descendant of Ailleagan," 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 Halligan (0.99 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 share the surname Halligan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.