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

Hanlon, 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 Hanlon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hanlon in America

Hanlon is the 3476th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hanlon surname appeared 10,278 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Hanlon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hanlon 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 Hanlon

The surname Hanlon has its roots in Ireland, originating from the Irish Gaelic "Ó hAnluain" or "Ó hAnluaine," meaning "descendant of Anluain." The prefix "Ó" signifies "grandson" or "descendant." The name Anluain is derived from the Gaelic elements "an" (the) and "luan" (warrior).

The earliest recorded instance of the name Hanlon can be traced back to the 13th century in County Roscommon, Ireland. The Hanlons were a prominent family in this region and held significant lands and power. In medieval Irish records, the name appeared in various spellings, such as O'Hanlone, O'Hanloun, and O'Hanlon.

One notable historical reference to the Hanlon name is found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The annals mention a Donnchadh Ó hAnluain who was killed in 1253 during a conflict between rival Irish clans.

In the 16th century, the Hanlons were among the families who lost their lands during the Plantation of Ulster, a organized colonization of Ulster by English and Scottish settlers. Despite this, the name persisted, and some Hanlons remained in Ireland, while others migrated to other parts of the world.

Notable individuals with the surname Hanlon include:

1. Patrick Hanlon (c. 1640 - c. 1710), an Irish Catholic priest and author who wrote about the Penal Laws against Catholics in Ireland.
2. Michael Hanlon (1766 - 1847), an Irish-born American Catholic priest and co-founder of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Kentucky.
3. Joseph Hanlon (1825 - 1892), an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Indiana.
4. Alfred Thomas Hanlon (1857 - 1935), a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons.
5. Edwin Hanlon (1892 - 1973), an American professional baseball player who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves.

The Hanlon surname has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Hanlon's Lough in County Roscommon, which was named after the prominent Hanlon family who once owned lands in the area.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hanlon

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

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

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

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